The Invincible Iron Man
by Classic Cowboy
Summary: KP/IM fusion. What is the measure of a man? Is it continuing when all seems lost? Is the sum of his works? Is it the man he is, or the hero he could become?
1. Resurrection

_My life began the day my life ended._

_Weird thing to say I know, but my motto has always been "never be normal"._

_My worse fear happened when Kim came home from her second year at Oxford with Derek._

_First glance he seemed like a great guy, smart, handsome, funny._

_When she took me to the side and told me exactly what he was to her … yeah, that sucked._

_I did what any self respecting man would do in such a situation: I bailed from the Possible home in tears._

_And sure, I sulked for a while, but it took a good kick in the ass like this to get my head straight like it should have been years ago._

_The very next day, I avoided anything Possible as much as possible, and went straight to Middleton College._

_I requested a list of the most difficult majors and signed up for three that caught my attention._

_After all, Kim always called me Potential Boy. Now, it was time to live up to that._

_Everyone expected me to fail, to fall, to crash and burn with near fatal consequences... even Rufus!_

_But I didn't, I took off like a rocket._

_It took six years, but I graduated with a 4.0._

_My majors were in Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Science, and Business Administration._

_Kim and Derek showed up for the graduation, and she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek._

_Apparently, she knew I could do it all along. Yay, me._

_Wade and I decided to go into business together._

_We went everywhere with it, home supplies, automotives, non-lethal military defense, and more._

_We even went into fashion, Monique jumped on board for that with barely a question._

_Stoppable Industries began as a small local business selling and producing brainchildren of my and Wade's design._

_It quickly became a multi-million dollar international._

_Meanwhile, Kim graduated Oxford, still dating Derek, and joined Global Justice, working with Drakken and Shego of all people._

_And by some twist of fate, Derek was brought in by the board of directors of my own company as CEO._

_And we all lived happily ever after…_

_More or less...  
_

**THE INVINCIBLE I.R.O.N. MAN**

**Chapter 1: Resurrection**

Global Justice Lt. Commander Kim Possible sighed as she pulled up the long drive way to Ron Stoppable's mansion-like condo. "Probably still in bed," She said to herself as she pulled out her spare key from her purse and made her way to the front door.

"Good morning, Madam Kimberly," Jarvis, Ron's first and only butler, greeted her at the door. "Good luck, Milady. Madam Monique attempted earlier but has since given up and gone home."

"Is he alone?" She asked as she blew a stray hair from her face.

"I have since learned to not even look," Jarvis smiled. "It is often best not to know."

Kim nodded to the old butler before making her way into the overly decorated home. She walked into Ron's study, which lead to his bedroom, and paused at his desk. She picked up a piece of scratch paper and read the words '_Integrated Repulsor Operational and Navigational_ Systems'. Below it was a massive equation that she could only understand partially along with a few sketched out mechanical designs, all in Ron's sloppy handwriting. She still marveled at how far Ron had come.

She sat the paper back down where she had found it before turning to the bedroom door and took a breath to prepare herself for whatever she found on the other side.

A pair of squeals greeted her entry. She gaped at her ex-boyfriend/best friend and the three girls that laid across the bed. Tara had the decency to try to cover herself, the redhead covered herself completely except the tip of her head, but Ron and Bonnie just lay there in all their glory.

"Hey, KP, you're here early." Ron said with a smile to the only clothed person in the room.

"Good morning, Ron," Kim said with an easy smile as she walked across the room, stepping over the scattered clothing, and opening his closet. "Did you forget you're meeting with the Middleton seniors this morning?"

"Oh, yeah, I actually did KP," Ron said as Bonnie and Tara glanced from Ron and Kim while they had their conversation as if they were both dressed and not with a group of naked girls.

"Do you even realize we're still here?" Bonnie sneered at her old rival.

"Oh, yeah, sometimes when Derek's away, I sometimes forget to put my dildos away too," Kim said as she looked through Ron's closet. She glanced then to the redhead still hiding. "C'mon, Lindsey, this isn't the first time we met here," Kim said as she pulled out a dress shirt from the closet.

Slowly, the young woman lowered the sheet, and Kim stiffened. "You're not Lindsey Lohan…"

"Yea, not quite, Cousin …" Joss Possible smiled sheepishly at her older cousin.

Kim's demeanor changed instantly. "You two, out," Kim said, pointing to Bonnie and Tara. "Forget your clothes. Out. Now," she snapped, and the two quickly began gathering their things and trying to get out without a word for fear of the fire that was almost literally shooting from Kim's emerald eyes. "You two, stay put. And get some damned clothes on. NOW!"

"You have no right to talk to me like that," Joss said with a slight tremble in her southern accent. "I'm nineteen years and two months old."

"But you're still my younger cousin, and you will respect me and your elders," Kim fired back. "You're better than the mindless bitches Ron usually drags in off the streets."

"We're still here," Tara glanced up at the angry redhead.

"OUT NOW!" Kim shouted, and Tara squeaked before following Bonnie out of the room.

"Sure, Kim, I've had sex with Ron. I ain't denying nothing," Joss said firmly, "But at least I had sex with a guy while single unlike some people I know."

Kim's eyes widened and her nostrils flared as she glared at the girl and fought to come up with a retort. "You know what … go home, Joss, just go home," Kim sighed, suddenly very tired.

Joss said nothing as she finished pulling on her clothes and running out of the room.

"Get dressed, Ron. I'll be waiting in the car," Kim said softly as she too walked out of the room.

A short while later, Ron joined Kim and they pulled out of his drive silently. They drove for sometime in silence. "You're mad at me, aren't you?" Ron asked as he glanced at the redhead driving.

"No, I'm not," Kim answered shortly.

"Are you sure?" Ron asked with a timid smile. "You seem kinda upset."

"I'M NOT! SO DROP IT!" Kim snapped.

"Why Joss?" Kim asked after taking some deep breaths.

"Actually didn't know it was her till a few hours after we got back home," Ron shrugged.

"Didn't you ask her name before you all went at it?" Kim asked with a slight tick of her eye.

"I don't often unless I recognize the girl from school or something," Ron said with another shrug, "Usually better that way."

"I don't see why you don't find a nice girl and settle down for real, instead these damned one night stands," Kim said with a twitch of her jaw.

"I had a nice girl," Ron mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Kim asked, glancing his way.

"I said I'll think on that… so what am I supposed to be meeting these kids for again?" Ron asked, flashing a boyish smile and causing Kim to roll her eyes.

"You're giving a pep talk for college hopefuls," Kim shook her head.

"Ah, yeah, can do," Ron nodded, and the car fell into silence again. "So …" He said with a tone of curiosity in his voice. "You have dildos? I noticed a plural 's'."

"Ron!" Kim narrowed her eyes.

"What? I find that interesting," Ron said, rubbing his chin.

-I.R.O.N.-

"LISTEN UP, PEOPLE!" Mr. Barkin shouted as he stepped out onto the stage at the Middleton High Auditorium. The senior class all silenced themselves and looked at the graying teacher. "We have a special guest here to speak to you today, so I want everyone to be quiet and attentive!" he barked before motioning to the side of the stage. "Let's give a big, Mad-Dog welcome to Ronald Stoppable!"

The crowd of teenagers clapped as Ron walked out on stage, waving with one hand and adjusting his tie with the other.

"Good morning!" Ron said, glancing at Kim and Monique, who had become his assistant, both just behind the curtain on the side of the stage. "High School's almost over, huh?" A round of applause and whistles came from that. "I've been there, and I never was so happy to be done with anything in my life! But let me give you guys a heads up: the fight's just starting." He said, leaning on the podium. "And one thing I learned the hard way was that when the chips are down, the only one you can truly count on is yourself. Want a job done right? Do it yourself. If you spend your life depending on others, you'll end up going nowhere."

"He's got that right," Monique said, glancing to the redhead, who suddenly found her shoes interesting. "Can never tell who'll be right there to stab you in the back and tear your heart out."

"People thought I was going to fail. Matter of fact, they seemed to be waiting for it," Ron said with a nod. "The college only let me attempt my courses if I agreed to go on academic probation. And if I made less than a C average that first year, I'd pay the next four semesters' worth of tuition without attending.

"But I worked hard, stayed focused for the first time in my life, and took it all the way." Ron said with a winning smile on his face. "A very wise man used to say 'Anything's Possible for a Possible', but I say anything's possible for someone who won't quit.

"So, all of you work hard, and for those of you interested in business," Ron smirked slightly, "I think my company's been getting a tad complacent lately, so let's get some good, strong competition out there, alright?

"One last note, this one to the outcasts," Ron said, glancing to the back of the auditorium. "I'm filthy rich. I mean, filthy stinking rich. I eat whatever I please, sleep with beautiful women every night, and do whatever I want. So, the next time a cheerleader rolls her eyes at you or insults you, just remember: in several years, when you're rich, she'll say anything to be your lady for a while. Thank you and have a great rest of the year!"

"That was good Ron… I think," Kim said as Ron joined the two women, and began walking out of the school.

"Thanks, now get me out of this place before I have any more painful flashbacks," Ron shuddered, "What's next on my agenda, Mon?"

"Mr. Stoppable? Mr. Stoppable! Can I ask you a few questions?"

"We really don't have time, Ron," Monique pressed.

"It's ok, Mon. So, what can I do for you, Ms...?"

"Christine Eberhart, Mad Dog Gazette. You've been called the Da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?"

"Absolutely untrue. I don't paint. I do cook, though. I'd love to show you some time," Ron said with a smirk.

"What do you say to your other nickname, the Merchant of Death?" Christine asked, unfazed by Ron's advance.

"That's not bad. And now, if you'll excuse me, Christine, I have another lady that needs my undivided attention. A pleasure to have met you. If you ever need a job..."

"I'll be sure to look you up," Sonia said ingratiatingly before walking away.

"You were saying, Mon?" Ron asked, as if completely unfazed by this latest news.

"Now, we load you on a plane and ship you overseas to the active demonstration of your new defense system for the military," Monique said, reading off her calendar book.

"Alright, have we got any ladies to come along? Maybe some interested in the Mile High Club?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Sorry, just you and Wade," Monique said, both she and Kim visibly upset by the fact that Ron wasn't more upset as they followed him out of the school.

-I.R.O.N.-

"It's about time, Ron. Do you have any idea how long I've been standing here?" Wade Lode asked of his partner as he stood on the loading ramp of Ron's private jet.

"I honestly didn't think my personal plane would take off without me," Ron said as he took his suitcase and briefcase from Kim and Monique.

"Be careful over there, Ron," Kim said with honest concern in her voice. "I have a bad feeling about this one."

"Hey, it's me, remember?" Ron winked, "Besides, worse comes to worse, I'll call Betty and have her send you and your Force Works team."

"I know, but still..." Kim hesitated. "I can always find another boyfriend. But I've only got one best friend, ok?"

After a moment, Ron glanced up at his still-younger-yet-now-grown-up partner and old friend. "So, what are we waiting for?" He asked as he started into the plane.

"You," Wade shook his head in disgust.

"Well, now we're waiting on you; c'mon," He said before heading into the cabin.

The plane ride was long and dull as Wade and Ron went over the demonstration several times.

"Wade, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Do you know why I'm being called 'the Merchant of Death'?"

Wade spat out his Slurpster. "What?"

"That's what I said. Our tech is non-lethal, or is supposed to be, anyway. I want you to find out who's been modifying our technology."

"Of course. I just can't imagine who would. Everyone in the company is 100 loyal."

"Just find out who," Ron said, uncharacteristically brisk.

"Yes, Mr. Stoppable."

After a few moments, Wade stopped talking and turned his head toward the window. "You hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Where are we?" Wade asked no one in particular as he pulled out his portable GPS. The device read they were over Afghanistan.

"Wade … I know that sound …" Ron's eyes widened as he heard what his friend had been hearing, "That's the sound of Repulsors…"

Ron glanced to the side when he heard the sound grow louder before a pointed object slammed through the side of the plane. "GET DOWN!" He yelled, shoving his friend under the desk as the Repulsor-propelled rocket exploded, throwing small, jagged pieces of metal from itself and the now-jagged hull of the plane around the inside of the plane.

"RON!" Wade called out as he crawled out from the safety of the desk to see his best friend sliding toward the opening in the side of the jet. He grabbed his arm, pulled him back, and looked him over. "Ron, are you ok?"

"I don't feel so good, KP… I think Shego hit me good this time…" he mumbled with glazed eyes. Wade looked him over, and his heart dropped when he saw the white of Ron's shirt quickly staining itself crimson.

"First things first, Ron, we have to get off this bird alive," Wade said as he wrestled into an emergency parachute stored under their work desk. "Hold on, Ron, we're getting out of this."

"Wade?" Ron coughed weakly. "Tell KP I'm sorry I screwed things up…"

"That's quitter talk," Wade snapped, "Now, hold on, we're about to do something really stupid…" he said before taking a deep breath and letting go. He yelped slightly as the air flow pulled him and Ron on out of the gaping hole in the cabin. They tumbled in freefall for several moments before Wade finally pulled the chute, almost losing his grip on Ron as they were jerked upward by the air catching the chute.

They landed safely in the desert, but Ron was in a real bad way, drifting in and out of consciousness and mumbling things Wade had never heard from him before. "Hang on, buddy, I'm about to call for help right now…" he said, reaching for his old Kimmunicator to contact Global Justice.

"I would not do that if I were you, my friend," a middle-eastern accent spoke crisply and Wade, glanced up to see that they were surrounded by half a dozen armed men.

"Aw, crap…" He whispered as he moved to keep Ron's wounded body behind him.

"If you want your friend to see tomorrow, do as we say," the leader of the group said harshly, "Refuse and you both will die quickly."

"What choice do we have?" Wade sighed in defeat before the barrel of a gun slammed into the back of his skull, sending him into darkness.

**To Be Continued … **

**A/N: After watching Iron Man this weekend, this plot bunny hit and would not let go. Enjoy, and I'm gunning to get the next chapter of this and either "Dark Knight" or "A Real American Hero" updated this weekend. Until next time! C.C. Out!**

**Disclaimer: Kim Possible and all related characters © Walt Disney Productions**

**Iron Man and all related characters and equipment © Marvel Comics, Inc.**


	2. Rebirth of a Hero

**THE INVINCIBLE I.R.O.N. MAN**

**Chapter 2: Rebirth of a Hero**

"I can't believe Kim's finally home," Ron said excitedly as he got his best clothes out of his closet, the ones Kim always seemed to like. "Sucks she missed Winter Break, but she's here all summer, buddy," he said as he glanced down at the ailing naked mole rat on his counter. "Oh, time for the pain pills, pal," He said, opening a drawer to his old pet's prescriptions.

"Remember, just two a day, one at breakfast and one at supper," Ron said, placing the small pill at the rodent's mouth. "We can't have you going all druggy on me."

Rufus weakly nodded and took his medicine. "So, are you comin' with me to see KP?" Ron asked as he patted his small head.

Rufus looked up weakly, and with sad look, shook his head. "No feel good," he squeaked as he laid his head down on one of Ron's shirts he was using as a bed.

"Alright, you rest, ok, buddy," Ron nodded, "I'll bring her by after we meet up." He then grabbed the flowers he had gotten for her and smiled at his best friend. "Well, she's supposed to be getting home any time now, so if I want to meet her, I'd better be getting there. See you in a while, pal."

"Love you," Rufus squeaked weakly as he rested his eyes.

Ron stalled a moment as he glanced in surprise at his long time pet. "Love you too, buddy. See you when I get home."

Ron quickly left, saying goodbye to his mother and Hana, who was now three years old, going on eighteen. "Be sure to bring Sister back," Hana said, planting her little fists on her hips.

"Will do, Han," Ron waved as he climbed onto his scooter and started down the street toward the rebuilt Possible Home.

Ron was expecting a joyous welcome home party; what he arrived to was anything but. He walked into the kitchen, and the tension was so thick, he felt as if the oxygen was barely present. Jim and Tim sat silently at the table beside Mr. Dr. P, who had a furious look on his face, and Mrs. Dr. P just stared at Ron with a look of mingled sadness and fear.

"Ron?" came the most beautiful voice Ron knew, and he turned to see Kim walking into the room, wearing slacks and a oxford polo shirt, her hair up in a ponytail. Ron crossed the room in a single stride and pulled her into a tight hug, lifting her feet off the ground.

"KP! I've missed you!" Ron exclaimed as he set her back down and moved in for a kiss. He was only vaguely aware she turned her face so that his lips hit her cheek instead of the targeted lips.

Ron glanced over to Mrs. Dr. P. when she heard a choked sob. "What's wrong, Mrs. Dr. P?" Ron asked as he stepped away from Kim. "Kim, what's with all the drama round here?" he asked, turning to his girlfriend, who was staring at her feet.

"Tell him, Kimberly Anne," Mr. Dr. P. growled out in a tone of voice Ron had never heard him use on his 'Kimmie-cub', not to mention he only middle-named her when she was in trouble.

"Ron… we need to talk …" She said, taking his hand and leading him to the living room.

"KP, what's going on?" Ron asked worriedly as they sat down on the couch.

"Ron…" Kim bit her lower lip. "I didn't want to talk to you about this over the phone or email… And it's why I chickened out of coming home for Christmas this year…"

"You know you can talk to me about anything," Ron gave a worried smile.

"Ron… you know I… I'll always love you, I always have, and I always will… and no matter what, I'll always be there for you… but… but… Ron…" Kim gulped loudly and forced herself to look him in the eye. "Ron, I've met someone…"

"See? I told you not to worry about meeting new friends over there," Ron said, patting her shoulder.

"Nice place, Kimberly," a crisp British accented voice spoke from the stairs.

"Who're you?" Ron asked the stranger. He was their age, tall, handsome, with well-kept dark hair and a goatee, and dressed in slacks, a white dress shirt and a Oxford sweater-vest.

"You must be Ronald, I'm Derek O. Stane, Kimberly's boyfriend from school." he said with a proud smile.

"What?" Ron asked as his heart dropped.

"Ron… like I said, I couldn't tell you that over the phone…" Kim focused on her lap. "I couldn't do that to you."

"Oh…" Ron said his shoulders drooping and his head bowing. "It was bound to happen eventually, right?" Ron asked as he stood up, his shoulders beginning to tremble slightly. "Knew I couldn't last forever, not with all the smotties out there, but I'm glad you put up with me as long as you did, KP…" He said with a shaky voice before turning his head slightly to Derek. "Take care of her. You have no bloody idea how lucky you are…"

"Ron…" Kim said, touching his arm, and gasped slightly at the sight of the tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Don't, Kim…" Ron swallowed hard, "I need… time to get my head around this. I'm… glad I could help you after Erik hurt you… It's probably all I'm good for…" he said before turning and walking out of the room. As soon as he was out of sight of the couple, he ran out of the house as fast as his legs could carry him.

He ran all the way home, not caring that he had left his scooter at the Possibles. He dodged his mom and Hana wordlessly and dashed into his attic room. "Rufus… I knew this was going to happen… I knew it!" He said, falling backwards onto his bed.

"Kim's gotten with an Oxford guy, so she'll be taken care of… that's all that really matters. Who cares if my life has been pretty much reduced to a nice pile of crap?" Ron asked with a sigh. He smiled up at his pet, which was still where he left. "I've gotta look on the bright side. I've still got you, right, Rufus?" Ron's brow furrowed when the naked mole rat didn't respond. "Rufus? You awake, pal?" he asked as he got back up and approached the sleeping rodent. "Rufus? Oh no…" Ron's heart broke a second time when he noticed Rufus' little chest and shoulders were completely still.

Several hours later in the backyard, with the same shoe box he brought Rufus home in all those years ago for a coffin, he dug a deep hole. "Ron? Your mom called and told me what happened…" Kim's voice called from the back door. Ron said nothing, but before Kim could approach, a toddler went for her throat.

"STAY AWAY!" Hana bellowed as she threw wild punches and kicks at the older girl.

"Hana! What are you doing?" Kim said, struggling to block the miniature ninja's attacks.

"You hurt my brother!" Hana growled with raw hatred in her dark hazel eyes.

"I never wanted to hurt him," Kim tried to explain to the enraged child.

"Then why did you?" Hana asked as she leapt at her again, but Kim managed to catch the little ball of energy in her hands. "You were gonna be my sister! We were supposed to be family…"

"I… you'll understand when you're older, Han…" Kim said as the little girl continued to struggle in her arms.

"No, I won't ever understand," Hana growled, "And only my family gets to call me Han… you don't get to no more!"

"Hana, that's enough," Ron finally spoke up in a tone that made both females stop and stare. "It's not her fault. If she's happy, that's what I want. That's all I ever wanted…"

Ron blinked several moments and noticed the tree limb was frozen in mid-breeze-pushed swing, and Kim and Hana were like statues with Hana almost lowered to the ground.

"You struck back at her for the pain you subconsciously placed on her, Stoppable-san. You made sure Possible-san understood you wanted to be alone with your best friend," A familiar, old voice spoke from behind him. "And then you made your vow to not fail again. You have done beyond well, Stoppable-san.

"I come to return the favor to which the world and I owe to you," Master Sensei said, stepping toward Ron, who was his current age and standing beside his frozen younger self. "This is in your mind, my young friend. At this moment, your friend and a new ally struggle to save your life. I am simply here to tell you that we at Yamanouchi believe in you and, though your destiny with us has past, we still are standing behind you through your life.

"You and Lode-san are in grave danger, and you are going to go through perilous times from the moment you awake, possibly for the rest of your life," Sensei explained sadly.

"If I'm in trouble, can't I use the Mystical Monkey Power to get us out of it like with the Aliens?" Ron asked curiously.

"No, I fear that the Monkey Power has come and gone, but a great power is still inside of you," Sensei smiled. "It is not mystical by any means. This power surpasses any known, and it is of your own creation."

"What? I don't understand…" Ron said as the world around him began to grow hazy.

"You will soon enough," Sensei said as his voice grew quieter. "Stay strong and faithful, Stoppable-san, your path is a long and hard one…"

--I.R.O.N.--

"Ron!" Wade beamed as Ron slowly opened his eyes. "...was beginning to wonder if you'd make it back …" He said as Ron tried to sit up but was stopped by two cables running to the bandages at his chest.

"I'd not pull those out if I were you…" another voice spoke from the side, and Ron turned to see an older man.

"What… happened to me?" Ron asked as he pulled at the bandages.

"We saved your life," Wade said as Ron looked to the car battery on the table beside him, and followed the cables to a mechanical device now imbedded in his chest.

"Shrapnel from the missile did serious damage to your heart, my friend," the stranger explained. "Your heart, for lack of a better term, is totaled …"

"Gee, that's a great way of breaking it to him easy," Wade rolled his eyes.

"We are trapped in a cave filled with heavily armed terrorists; now is not the time for sugar-coating," the stranger shook his head.

"Anyway, we constructed a mechanical pacemaker powered by this car battery," Wade explained, motioning to the battery. "Without it, your heart has enough strength to make it a day at the most if you take it easy."

"And you are…" Ron asked, glancing to the stranger.

"I am Yinsen, and I, like you, am a prisoner of the terrorists," he nodded.

"Terrorists?" Ron asked glancing to Wade.

"The Ten Rings," Wade said, and Ron shook his head.

"I thought me and KP took care of them years ago…" Ron sighed.

"Apparently, they recovered," Wade smiled weakly.

A moment later, the door swung open, and a bald headed man of middle-eastern decent entered with dozens of armed guards.

"Raza! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes. I could've gone my whole life without seeing you again." Ron smiled at the terrorist.

"Ronald Stoppable, the unknown sidekick-turned-world famous rich boy," Raza said to the injured blond. "Where is Kim Possible to save you now?"

"Can't say, probably celebrating with the rest of my family on the cashing in of the life insurance I left to my sister," Ron responded with a shrug.

"I want you to make me a weapon using your I.R.O.N. technology," Raza stated crossing his arms. "Grant me the secret of that technology, and you will go free."

"You already are using it. Isn't that what you used to blow my plane out of the air?" Ron asked but was answered with a hard slap.

"I am using your Repulsor technology yes, but it is little more than a type of propulsion. I want a weapon that uses it to its full capacity." Raza said with a nod.

"I refuse." Ron said firmly.

"You are a blind fool, Stoppable," Raza shook his head. "But you were once a hero. I wonder… is there still a hero inside you?" he turned to his armed minions. "Kill his friend."

"Wait!" Ron said, holding up his hand, "If you want a weapon… I'll give you a weapon."

"I knew you would see the light. Now, tell me what you need." Raza smiled broadly.

--I.R.O.N.--

Yinsen watched curiously as Ron and Wade quickly took apart some of the missiles and materials. "What is this Iron he spoke of?" he asked as Ron and Wade worked on a small object.

"It's I.R.O.N. Integrated Repulsor Operational and Navigational Technology," Wade explained.

"Basically, Repulsors are low input/high output energy propulsion disks. But without a specific system of power management, they're not usable for anything but small short range rockets. I came up with an out-of-the-box equation that successfully manages the energy system and control of the Repulsors. A jet with I.R.O.N-controlled Repulsors can travel around the world at an astounding speed with very little fuel use." Ron continued.

"The weapon possibilities for such technology…" Yinsen shook his head

"I had strictly prohibited," Ron said firmly as he looked over their work. "I think it's ready…"

"Are you sure this will work, Ron?" Wade asked questioningly as he looked at the small object on the table.

"I am not carrying a damn car battery around with me for the rest of my life," Ron said, "This will work."

"Then let's power this sucker up," Wade nodded as he prepared the final piece of their little puzzle. "Do the honors?"

"And is this part of your I.R.O.N. technology?" Yinsen asked as Ron placed the last chip in, and the small baseball-sized object began giving off a bright blue glow.

"One of our first little brainstorms." Wade smiled, "Can't believe we managed to compress it down this far."

"First brainstorms… the Arc Reactor?" Yinsen eyes widened as Wade replaced Ron's pacemaker with the Arc Reactor. "I read of that before… something of this capability will power your heart for fifty lifetimes…"

"Or something really big for fifteen minutes," Ron and Wade nodded.

"Something big?" Yinsen asked, but the boys said nothing as Ron studied the new chest piece before standing up and going to their work stations.

--I.R.O.N.--

"You two seem to know what you're doing…" Yinsen said as Wade and Ron worked on a series of mechanical engines among other small projects.

"We've never actually taken it off paper," Ron stated as he pounded on an anvil before putting the piece of metal back into the smelting pot for a few moments. "But we were talking about combining my I.R.O.N. tech with Wade's old battle suit design for Kim.

"We wanted to make it more of a suit of armor than a battle suit. While the battle suit's self-repairing tech was a good idea, a suit that heals on a shot down corpse isn't that useful." Ron continued as he brought the metal plate out and continued shaping it. "We planned to perfect the design and give it to Global Justice.

"But for the time being, I think I'll keep this our little secret," Ron said, holding up the piece revealing it to be a faceplate. "I won't have anymore of my designs used as weapons."

"I've seen Stoppable Industries plasma drills used to torture children, and garbage compressors used for disposing of bodies." Yinsen confessed.

"No more…" Ron said looking through the faceplate.

"You know… you and Kim Possible once saved me and my family," Yinsen said, looking away.

"Really?" Ron asked as he went to work on another piece.

"You gave us a second chance to be together, and for that, I am going to help you return to your girlfriend safely. Or is it wife now?" Yinsen asked as he pulled out a metal plate and began shaping it as he was instructed.

"We… kinda downgraded back to best buds," Ron said as he pounded a little harder on the metal.

"That… is very sad, When I last saw the two of you, you both seemed very much in love," Yinsen stated.

"Some things never change, and some things do," Ron said cryptically as he looked at his and Wade's designs. "So, how's the fam?"

"I look forward to seeing them when I leave this place," Yinsen nodded as he held up the piece of steel. "Is this correct?"

"Just a little more of a curve," Wade said as he glanced over from where he was assembling what appeared to be hydraulics in the shape of a boot.

The door quickly opened behind them, and Wade, Ron, and Yinsen quickly turned and placed their hands on their head. "Good morning, my friends. Working hard all through the night, I see. I am most impressed…" Raza said as he entered with his guards. "Is my gift nearing completion? Two and a half months is a long wait…"

"Yes, just about there," Ron said, glancing to the unassembled pieces. "We should have it completed by tonight…"

"I'll leave you to finish up, then. I thank you for all your hard work…" Raza said as he left them in peace.

"Pieces ready, Wade?" Ron asked his friend.

"We haven't had a chance to actually test it, but… what choice do we have?" Wade shrugged.

"Suit me up…" Ron nodded firmly.

Wade turned on the laptop on the desk as Yinsen helped Ron pull on some protective under clothing before moving to a large rack. "System's ready," Wade said as Ron ducked down, got into the upper chest piece of the armor, and stepped into the large boots.

Wade and Yinsen then grabbed a power ratchet each and began placing the several pieces on Ron's body. "I hope you went before we started this," Wade said as he placed the hip armor on him. "Cause this probably won't be coming off till we get out."

"Don't plan on it till I'm in my own bathroom," Ron replied as he flexed his arm slightly. "Activate the I.R.O.N. system."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the cave, Raza walked into the observation room. "Where's Stoppable?" he asked looking at the monitors.

"He was there a moment ago…" one of the guards said.

"Go check." Raza ordered.

Wade, Yinsen and Ron all glanced to the door as the peek hole opened. "Status?" Ron asked trying to see the laptop.

"Forty percent ready," Wade answered.

"We need more time …" Ron growled as he shut his eyes. All three flinched as the booby trap they set on the door exploded killing the two guards trying to get in. "We really need more time. Wade, see if you can by pass some subsystems. And remember, once this thing is activated, you two stay back here till I plow the road."

"I'm going to buy you some time," Yinsen said as he started toward the door.

"Yinsen, where are you going?" Ron yelled, "Stick to the plan!"

"Finish suiting him up," Yinsen said, picking up one of the dead soldiers guns. "I'll buy you time."

"Yinsen!" Ron yelled, "This isn't part of the plan!"

"You and Kim once risked your lives to save mine and my loved ones; now, I return that favor." He said before running out into the cave.

Yinsen ran through the cave, firing his gun and screaming while Wade finished sealing the suit. "You're ready," Wade said, stepping back. They both glanced to the laptop as it read ninety-seven percent complete. "Kick ass, Ron." He said as the laptop hit one hundred percent and all the lights in the cave went out, leaving Ron's chest plate the only illumination.

Several moments later a group of armed guards ran into the room and pointed their flash lights and guns at Wade. "Back away from whatever you're working on." They growled and a moment later a large metal arm swung around sending one flying into the stone wall, before it swung around again to strike the other.

"Wait for my signal," Ron spoke through his metal mask before stomping out into the cave.

Farther down the cave, several soldiers stood waiting with their guns drawn when the ground gave a short tremble… then another… and another.

The soldiers' eyes widened as the towering metallic titan stomped out of the shadows. He just stood there as the terrorists opened fire on him, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off the metallic armor. After several moments, they ceased fire. "My turn," Ron said, lifting his arms to reveal a pair of flame throwers on the underside of his wrists.

The metallic titan stomped through the cave but hesitated when he saw Yinsen lying in a pile of boxes covered in bullet holes. "Yinsen?"

"You were supposed to make me a weapon, Stoppable…" Raza growled as stepped out with a grenade launcher.

"I said I'd make a weapon," Ron said as he ducked to the side, dodging the grenade before firing his own at the wall behind Raza, burying him in the debris from the wall. "Never said you'd get to use it." He then turned to his injured friend. "Yinsen, hang on, we'll get you help." Ron whispered lifting his face plate.

"This… is what I want, Ron…" Yinsen panted as blood trickled out of the side of his mouth.

"That's quitter talk; you want to see your family, right?" Ron asked as he looked over Yinsen's injuries.

"My family is dead… and now I go to them," Yinsen nodded. "You were saved for a reason, my friend; do not waste your life."

"I'm not a hero, Yinsen; that was Kim… I'm not worth that," Ron shook his head.

"That is where you are wrong… you were... and you are still a hero…" He said, taking Ron's gloved hand. "You just lost your way for a while... I am pleased I was able to help you find your way back… maybe it will take you back to her, yes?" Yinsen gave a soft smile before he went limp and his eyes closed.

"Yinsen…" Ron closed his eyes sadly. He then stood up and closed his faceplate. "Wade, start making your way up here; the path's almost clear…" he said as rockets armed on his wrists.

Ron stomped out of the cave and looked around at the payload of technology from his own company… his own mind. He lifted his wrist and fired a rocket, then another and another. Terrorists fell in terror as this 'Iron Man' blasted their weapons payload, their own guns useless against his armor.

"Wade! Time to go home!" Ron called as the payloads began to explode. Ron's long time friend ran out of the cave and jumped onto Ron's back as he activated the rocket boosters on his legs.

"BOOOOYAH!" Ron called out as the armored titan and his friend were lifted above the explosions and soared through the air like a missile.

"This is so cool!"Ron said before the rockets vibrated loose and shot past them. "Ok… that isn't cool…" Ron whimpered before they both screamed as the began to fall from the sky.

The two screamed the whole way down before they slammed into the sand, making the armor shatter into hundreds of pieces. "Ron?" Wade moaned as he shook sand from his head.

"Yeah?" Ron moaned as he struggled to get out of his destroyed armor.

"You dead?" Wade asked with a moan.

"No, mon. Are you?" Ron asked as he finally got an arm loose and pulled the helmet off.

"Don't think so… so, now what?" Wade said as he stumbled toward him to help him out of the armor.

"We either stand here and definitely die, or we walk and maybe not die." Ron said as he crawled out of the remains of his suit.

"I like the second option personally…" Wade said as he looked around for signs of civilization.

"Me too… let's go that way…" Ron said, pointing in a specific direction.

"Any particular reason?" Wade asked as he started to follow him.

"We crashed this way, and I definitely don't want to go back," Ron said, trudging through the sand.

"Sound reasoning," Wade nodded as he followed behind.

--I.R.O.N.--

They walked for quite some time before they saw a group of hummers approaching. The two waved and yelled and smiled when they turned toward them. "Thank God…" Wade sighed as the vehicles stopped, but they froze when instead of US soldiers, a large group of armored terrorists just like the ones they escaped from got out and surrounded them.

"Oh, what the hell, man," Ron sighed as he and Wade placed their hands on their heads.

The terrorists and Ron all looked up as a Global Justice hover-jet de-cloaked just over them, and the hatch opened. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!!" Shego yelled as she leapt from the still moving vehicle. She landed in front of Ron and Wade and began throwing plasma bursts at the terrorists. "Ok, rich boys, eat sand while we kick some ass."

"I do so love your calm demeanor, Shego," Drakken said as he jumped out as the jet landed a short distance away. "Say hello to my little friends," He said as vines shot out of his wrists and went through the sand to attack the shocked terrorists from underground.

"Force Works," Ron grinned at Wade. "I never thought I'd be happy to see Shego."

"First time for everything, huh, Mr. Stoppable?" Will Du said as he stepped out of the jet with his gun drawn, firing on the surprised and confused terrorists.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Kim Possible bellowed as she flipped out of the jet and leapt to stand over the prone Ron, punching and kicking at any who got anywhere near him. Once the remaining conscious and breathing terrorists piled into the two remaining Hummers, they retreated with Shego and Will firing on them.

"Thanks for the save, K…" Ron started as he climbed to his feet, but he couldn't finish the sentence as Kim pulled him into a crushing hug.

"You're alive …" Kim breathed as she pulled away running her hands over his bruised, stubble-bearded face. "You're alive …"

"Last time I checked anyway…" Ron said with a weak smile before she gripped his shoulders and shook him slightly.

"You're going to be ok, Ron, you hear me?" Kim asked somewhat frantically, "You're going. to. be. ok."

"Kim, I know," Ron said, and for the first time since their childhood, he saw the hard-edged, redheaded Global Justice Agent burst into tears and wrap her arms around him desperately.

Ron awkwardly patted her shoulder and looked to the others helplessly.

"Anybody else ready to go home?" Wade laughed slightly.

**To Be Continued…**

Editor's note: Twenty points if you spot the "Cool Runnings" reference. All KP characters are owned by Disney. All Iron Man references and characters are property of Marvel Studios.


	3. Homecoming

**THE INVINCIBLE I.R.O.N. MAN**

**Chapter 3: Homecoming**

Monique Cabe fidgeted nervously as the Global Justice hoverjet slowly came to a landing at the Middleton Air and Space Center. As the hanger slowly opened, she smiled up at Ron and Wade as they carefully limped down with Kim between them, helping them down the gangplank. "What's this?" Ron motioned toward the EMTs and the gurney. "I don't need this; get out of my way," Ron waved them off.

"Welcome home," Monique said, stepping forward.

"Your eyes are red. Shedding some tears for your old, long-lost boss?" Ron smirked slightly.

"Associate. You aren't now nor will you ever be the boss of me, Stoppable," Monique winked, "and only tears of joy. I hate job hunting."

"Vacation's over," Ron said, making his way toward the limo.

"Wait, I do have one thing to say here," Monique said, turning to the group. Kim, Wade, and Ron waited patiently before she turned quickly and slammed her knee into the apex of Wade's legs. Wade's eyes crossed and he groaned loudly as he sank to his knees before Monique swung around bringing her palm hard across his cheek, sending him the rest of the way down to his back. "Don't you ever worry me like that again, you overgrown brat!" She growled before she stomped past Ron and climbed into the limo.

Ron and Kim helped Wade into the limo before getting situated themselves. "Alright, driver, take us to the hospital," Kim instructed, but Ron held up his hand.

"No hospital, I'm fine." Ron said, and the girls opened their mouths to argue, but he held up his hand. "No. There are only two things I want right now. Number One: Bueno Nacho. I've been trapped in a cave for three months. I want nacos, and I mean a LOT of nacos, as in they'll have run out by the time I'm done. And the second..."

"Is a lot of bed rest," Kim finished for him, still concerned that he had waved off the EMTs at the space center.

"The second thing is I want a press conference."

"A press conference?" Kim asked, blinking in surprise, and glanced to Wade and Monique, who were just as confused as she was.

"Yeah, I know you've been covert for a while, but I thought for sure you'd remember what those were," Ron cocked an eyebrow. "That's where we get a lot of reporters together, and I give a statement on something important concerning my company.

"I'm just playing," Ron held up his hands as Kim narrowed her eyes. "It's big, trust me. But first: Bueno Nacho. God, I need my nacos…"

--I.R.O.N. --

The crowd outside Stoppable Industries Main Headquarters applauded when the limo pulled up, and Derek Stane, the loudest cheerer, opened the door. "HERE HE IS!" He grinned as Ron climbed out with a bag of Bueno Nacho in each hand and under each arm. "Is one of these mine?" Derek asked but only got an animalistic growl in response.

"Kim has me on a diet anyway…" Derek said before turning to his fiancé, who was climbing out behind the blond. "Knew if anyone could find him in that desert…" He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "What's he up to?"

"Ron's harder to predict than the weather." Kim shrugged as Monique and Wade exited the car.

They followed Ron in as he munched and sat down on the stage directly in front of the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Press, let me be the first to say I am thrilled to see Ron Stoppable back with us after being held captive for three months by Middle Eastern terrorists," Derek said as he stood behind the podium. "So, without further ado, Ron Stoppable!"

"Alright, how about you all having a seat so everyone can see me," Ron waved as he swallowed the last of his fifth naco. "I just want to say I appreciate all the thoughts and wishes and prayers while I was over there. But, you know, going through a situation like that made me do a lot of thinking and soul searching," He said as he leaned against the podium. "I'm sure everyone remembers back when Kim Possible was a freelance hero, helping anyone who asked for it, right?

"Anyone remember the goofy guy who helped her out on her missions and trips?" He asked, glancing around the crowd of reporters. "Bout my height, a little shorter then, my color hair, my color eyes, freckles, little thinner… constantly losing his pants… anything?"

He was met with a sea of blank stares.

"Figures," Ron grumbled before climbing to his feet. "For the record, that was me. Believe it or not, I was with her on almost every single mission she went on as a freelancer. I was why she referred to the operation as 'Team Possible'." Ron smiled softly at the redhead in the back. "I remember those days as some of the greatest of my life. Just me and my best friend, going out, pulling kittens out of trees, and stopping lunatics from taking over the world, but no matter what we did… we made a difference!

"Yeah, part of the reason I went with her is I was worried about her getting hurt, but I also got the same thrill she did at knowing that we made a difference to someone… to the world. Then, some things happened down the road that caused us to part company, she became a professional instead of a freelancer, and I went into the world of business and invention. But we both still wanted nothing more than to keep making a difference.

"You can turn on the news or open the paper or magazines and still see Kim making a difference. Force Work does more good for innocent people of the world than Team Possible ever did. So in short, she succeeded where I failed.

"Kim leads her team to stop some crazy from blowing up a city with a microwave transmitter," Ron sighed, looking down. "I design a new type of microwave oven. I design equipment meant to make John Everyman's life a little easier, and then Kim has to stop some terrorist from using that same technology to hurt innocent people.

"In a way, I'm still making a difference, just not a positive one," Ron bit his lip for a moment. "While we were over there, a man was held with us. He risked his life… he GAVE his life... to save mine." He said, looking up boldly to the crowd. "Not because of my money, not because of my power, not because of Ron Stoppable the richest, blindest playboy on the planet. He saved me because once, a long time ago, Kim and I saved him and his family… because we made a difference in his life.

A pin's drop could be heard in the crowd as they all watched in surprise at a side of Ron Stoppable only Kim had seen before. "I want to make a difference like that again. And I am going to make a difference again starting today." Ron looked directly at Derek before turning to the crowd. "Effective immediately, Stoppable Industries will have a full production lockdown."

Complete and utter silence filled the room before Ron continued. "The lockdown will remain until I am personally assured all measures are taken to keep our technology out of the hands of terrorists, extremists, and weapon producers." He nodded his head before adding, "Furthermore, I will be personally overseeing an investigation of all departments, and if any branch of Stoppable Industries has had under-the-table dealings, they will be immediately removed from their position and possibly brought up on charges.

"Questions?" Ron asked, and the silence was shattered.

--I.R.O.N.--

Derek stomped through the main offices of Stoppable Industries. He threw open both doors to Ron's office and found him seated with his feet kicked up on the desk. Ron held up his hand as he continued his conversation. "Yes, I'm fine, Yori. But this is something we have to do… yeah, I'm glad you agree... I'll email you the details on the Yinsen system later this afternoon. All I ask is for you keep an eye on Stoppable Japan for me. There's a reason I hand picked you for the CEO position there besides the mad ninja skills and tight little karate butt."

"Something else you neglected to talk to me about?" Derek asked, crossing his arms as Ron ended his call.

"Sorry, Big D, I'm just hitting the ground running with this," Ron said as he pushed a napkin toward him. "I've already got Wade working on it. I call it the Yinsen system." he explained, "What we're doing is we're taking all the designs and breaking them up and storing them on a minimum of twelve different servers. To get any design specs, you have to have proper clearance on all related servers, and no one person can have clearance for a whole design."

"That's… a great idea," Derek said with a smile. "Will definitely up security."

"Speaking of which, I'm making you second-in-command of the investigation," Ron said before glancing the computer.

"Me? I thought you'd have Wade help you with that…" Derek said in honest surprise.

"Wade's going to be helping me with another personal project," Ron gave a small smile. "Besides, I need someone I know I can trust. KP gave you her seal of approval, so that's more than enough for me."

"Speaking of seals… let's see it…" Derek smiled.

Ron blinked. "See what?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"Don't play dumb with me, Stoppable; I know a mask when I see one," Derek smirked.

"Who told you? It had to be Kim or Wade," Ron narrowed his eyes.

"Ronald…" Derek snorted.

"Kim… alright…" Ron sighed as he unbuttoned his shirt and showed the large, glowing, metallic ring in his chest.

"My God… you… made this in a cave?" Derek said as he touched the Arc Reactor in his chest.

"Sir!" the secretary grunted through the intercom, interrupting Derek's reverie. "There's … a young bi- girl here to see you… she's… quite persistent."

"Send her in. I've been expecting her," Ron sat back in his chair and buttoned his shirt.

The doors banged open and swung back, shattering a large vase. "You!" the sixteen-year-old Japanese girl snarled as she pointed at Ron.

"Hi," Ron waved as the girl jumped onto his desk and grabbed him by his tie.

"You! Don't you do that again!" She snarled in his face.

"Missed you too, sis," Ron smiled brightly.

"Don't 'sis' me, Ron Stoppable," Hana Stoppable said with a firm grip on his tie.

"I'll just leave you to your family reunion," Derek said as he made a quick escape.

"What are you doing in town? Mom and Dad here too?" Ron asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"As if you could pull Mom away from the beach for anything short of your funeral. They're still in Florida; I've spent the last couple months with Aunt Anne and Uncle James," Hana explained, finally releasing his tie and sitting down roughly on the top of his desk. "You scared the shit out of me, big brother."

"Watch the language, lil lady," Ron said warningly.

"Like you haven't said worse," Hana crossed her arms.

"I'll have you know I didn't say a single curse word till I was in college, and even so, do as I say not as I do," He said, wiggling his finger.

"So, no orgies?" Hana asked with a smirk.

"I deny all knowledge of even the meaning of that word," Ron responded, holding up his hand.

"Tell that to the tabloids," Hana grinned.

She then looked at her lap and her lower lip began to tremble before she threw herself into her big brother's arms. "Hey, now, no water works," Ron said as he held his little sister close.

"I really thought I'd lost you for a while…" she whispered into his chest.

"They'll need more than that to take me down," He said, stroking her long, dark hair.

She froze after her cheek struck something hard. "What's that?" she asked, placing both her hands onto his chest.

"Oh, nothing important…" Ron said as Hana's chestnut eyes narrowed on him.

"Tell me," She said in a firm tone. "Don't make me go ninja bitch on you."

"Ok… but it's not as serious as it looks…" Ron said as he unbuttoned his shirt again.

Hana watched closely as Ron opened his shirt, and she stared at the glowing object embedded in his chest. "It's… pretty. What's it do?" She asked with wide, curious eyes.

"It… um… kinda keeps my heart beating…" Ron mumbled, making her face pale with concern.

"It does what?" She asked in horror.

"Shush, it's not that bad," he said as her eyes filled up with tears again.

"Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD?! Ron, that means… you could have… you might have… oh, my…" She whimpered as she hugged him tightly again.

"This is all _her_ fault," Hana hissed angrily, still holding on tightly. "If she had just looked harder, she might have found you before you got that stuck in your chest…"

"If Kim did anything, Han, she saved mine and Wade's lives," Ron chuckled, softly patting her head.

"Ha! Drakken and Shego maybe, but _her_? She's just a walking ego trip," She said, resting her head on her brother's shoulder. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's not even really Aunt Anne and Uncle James' daughter, a science experiment or something."

"So, how long are you staying in town?" Ron asked, relaxing back in the chair.

"Don't know. It depends on how long my big brother needs me," She said, resting her eyes.

"A while then," Ron smiled.

--I.R.O.N.--

Later that evening, Ron and Wade met in his basement lab in the large mansion built out of his old family home. "What kept you?" Wade asked as he sat at the computer.

"Hana and I were hanging," Ron said as he walked in. "Rufus?" He asked as the computer came online.

"Ready and waiting," came the computer AI's deep voice. Ron had initially given Rufus 3000 a high-pitched voice in honor of his late naked mole rat, but inability to get it just right made him change it to something deeper, very similar to the voice of the alien security office on "Space Search: The Next Generation".

"You loaded the design for the Mark I Armor?" Ron asked as the two men stood at a large, holographic computer setup.

"Just finished," Wade nodded, and Ron began keying on the closest keypad.

"Alright, Rufus, bring up the Mark I Armor alongside the Battle Suit." Ron said as a three dimensional image of both Kim's old battle suit and the armor Ron used to escape captivity appeared before them.

"Shall I save this to the company servers?" Rufus asked.

"Not yet, not till I'm sure Derek is as trustworthy as I hope he is," Ron responded as he began removing some parts of the armor and throwing them into the digital recycling bin. "Just save it on my private servers, and break it up as well, multiple files."

Ron then removed the outer syntho-cloth layer of the battle suit and threw it into the bin, before moving over the remaining parts of the battle suit and placing them inside the bulky armor. "Hm… let's see…"

He used his hands to digitally take parts of the bulky armor and smooth them down and/or replace them with smaller, more efficient pieces.

"I thought you said no weapons," Wade said as he watched Ron molding the armor and battle suit together.

"Not a weapon," Ron said studying the digital model. "An enforcer."

--I.R.O.N.—

Meanwhile, in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, they were just beginning to close down for the night when a shapely woman walked past security.

"Excuse me, ma'am, we're closing," the security guard said, but the woman just held up a hand. "I'll just be a second, cutie."

"Ma'am… I'm going to have to ask you to…" He said before she cut him off by striking out with a long, metallic whip across his chest.

She narrowed her eyes behind her sunglasses before continuing on, finally entering an exhibit for Ancient Mongols and looking at finds in many cases.

"There you are," she said as she found what she was looking for.

In a quick, fluid movement, she slashed out with her whip and struck the glass case, reached in and grabbed a single ring with a large, almost glowing, solitary emerald. "One down, nine to go," She said with a smile.

"Freeze! Whoever you are!" the security guard said, holding up a gun.

"You can call me Whiplash," she said with a wink before she lashed out with her whip, slicing the gun in half before leaping forward to kick the guard in the face.

"Anyone want a piece?" She asked, glaring at the frightened guards before withdrawing her whip and making her way out of the museum.

"Hang on, my dearest," she said, smiling at the ring in her hand. "You'll be back soon enough."

**To Be Continued … **


	4. First Flight

**THE INVINCIBLE I.R.O.N. MAN**

**Chapter 4: First Flight**

"Alright, begin flight system test number one," Ron said as he stepped onto the platform in large metal boots with wiring running up to his chest-piece and across to hand-held controls. "Camera running, Wade?" Ron asked, looking toward his friend holding a handheld camcorder. He then glanced to a mobile robot arm holding a fire extinguisher. "If I catch fire, I'm counting on you to put me out.

"Ok…" Ron said, working his arms and legs for a moment to loosen up. "first test, start with ten percent thrust…"

"Ready when you are," Wade said with a thumbs-up.

"Alright, upward thrust in five…" Ron said as he gripped the handles. "Four, three, two… ONE, GO!" He called out and pulled the triggers on the controls.

Ron blinked and looked around, disappointed to still be standing in the same place. "What?" He looked down and saw the boots and pants gone. "Aw, man…" A moment later, the robot arm pulled the trigger on the fire extinguisher, covering Ron in cold, white foam.

"Ok, back to the drawing board for a while," Ron made a motion to cut recording and walked off the test platform. "Maybe I need to upgrade the power source too…" He said, looking at his chestpiece.

--I.R.O.N.--

Kim yawned as she pulled into her parents' driveway to pick up half of her team for the new mission that had come up. So what if she hadn't slept in over forty-eight hours and everyone else in the Force Works team had. "No big …" Kim mumbled as she climbed out of her SUV and made her way into her parents' home.

She found her father sitting on the floor of the living room with several engine parts scattered apart and across the pile was one of her teammates. "Dad, Drakken, what are you guys taking apart this time?"

"The proper term, oh fearless leader, is improving." Dr. Drakken said as a vine slid from his wrist to grab a component across the messy living room.

"Improving what?" She asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Isn't it obvious, Kim?" Her father said, looking up at his daughter, and it panged her heart that he no longer called her that pet-name she hated as a teenager. 'Be careful what you wish for…' she thought.

"Not really… no…" she said, looking at the mess.

Drakken and James looked at each other and silence filled the living room. "What was it anyway?" James asked curiously.

"You're asking me? You started taking it apart," Drakken scratched his head with one of his symbiotic vines.

"Where's Shego?" Kim rolled her eyes, glancing away from the two older men.

"In the backyard with Hana Banana and your mother," James said as he dug back into a large part of whatever it was with his screwdriver.

"Carry on," Kim waved as she walked through the house.

Kim exited to see her mother sitting in a patio chair reading the paper while her raven-haired teammate sparred with a slightly shorter teenaged girl.

"Good, now mix that punch in with your other attacks," Shego instructed in an uncharacteristically patient and assuring tone.

Kim watched Hana and Shego spar silently and thought for a moment that they were unaware of her presence.

"Enjoying the show, Princess?" Shego asked, not even glancing Kim's way.

Hana glanced up to see Kim, and the older redhead flinched at the hate-filled glare the sixteen year old sent her way. "Hey, Hana, how goes the training?"

Hana simply grabbed her discarded towel, wiped her face, and made her way to the house, but not before pausing a moment at Kim's side. "Burn in hell," she growled silently before continuing on.

Kim flinched at the girl's words before glancing to the raven-haired former mercenary. "The girl can hold a grudge. Can't say I can relate though; if you all but kicked one of my brothers in the crotch, I'd probably pat you on the back."

"Thanks, Shego. You always make me feel so much better…" Kim rolled her eyes before glancing to her mother. "Hi, Mom."

"Kimmie," Anne Possible said curtly before turning to follow the girl inside.

"Still batting a hundred, I see." Shego commented as she wiped her own face with a towel. "So, as you like to say, what's the sitch?"

"Let's go get…" Kim started but was interrupted by her mother's angry bellow.

"JAMES TIMOTHY POSSIBLE! ANDREW LIPSKY!"

"Let's go play hero for the boys," Shego said with a faster step.

--I.R.O.N.—

"This will be it for the day, Ron," Wade said as Ron stomped out onto the test panel with the metallic Repulsor boots but this time wearing a black and blue battle-suit.

"Right, no big," Ron said as he fingered the controls of the jets.

"Again… for safety reasons, we're going to use only ten percent thrust…" Ron then glanced to the robot arm with the fire extinguisher. "Don't squirt me unless I go Human Torch, got it?" the arm nodded. "Alright, ready, Wade?"

"Ready when you are." Wade said, holding up the camcorder.

"Alright … five, four, three, two, one…" Ron said, gripping the controls. "UP! UP! AND AWAY!" And like a bottle rocket, Ron shot up into the air, slamming hard into the concrete ceiling and causing cracks to run the length of the roof. He remained plastered there for several moments before he fell unceremoniously to the concrete floor with a sickening thud.

The robot arm spun and released a blast of foam from the fire extinguisher, yet again soaking the dazed young man.

"Ron! You dead?" Wade asked running up to him.

Ron lifted his head from the floor and glanced at his friend. "I… I'm not sure right now…" he said before he fell back with a thunk.

--I.R.O.N.--

"It's not my fault!" Drakken said again as he, Shego, and Kim sat around the kitchen table. "If we had just some more time, we'd make it the king of all auto-vacs!"

"You didn't even know what it was to begin with, Dr. D," Shego cocked an eyebrow.

"That's regardless," he pouted.

"Can we get on with the mission briefing?" Kim sighed and shook her head when Drakken and Shego turned their full attention on her.

"There was a break-in at the Smithsonian last night," Kim said, dropping photos in front of Shego and Drakken. "The thief took out an armed security guard with ease."

"So? Dr. D could do that even before he got his flower power," Shego snorted.

"Words hurt, Shego," Drakken shrank slightly in his seat.

"Yeah, but she only took one thing when she could have easily cleaned out the whole display." Kim said, pointing out a few shots.

"What is that?" Shego narrowed her eyes.

"A ring supposedly owned by Genghis Kahn," Kim said, pulling out an old picture of the stolen ring. "Supposedly there were ten, but this was the only one the Smithsonian had." She then pointed to some close up shots of the thief. "She called herself Whiplash; do either of you remember her from your bad guy days?"

"Name doesn't ring a bell," Shego said, looking at a picture.

"She does look vaguely familiar, but I can't place her…" Drakken said, tilting his head. "Though I wouldn't mind getting to know her better…" he said, earning a glare from his emerald-skinned partner.

"So, are we gonna investigate the crime scene?" Shego asked with her voice a bit more tense.

"Will's there now and hasn't found anything, and you know he's more thorough than all three of us combined," Kim said, "My best guess is she's going to go after the next ring, and the closest one is in hands of a collector in North Korea."

"So, when do we leave?" Shego asked with an excited smile. Good or bad, she always did enjoy the thrill of going into action.

"The hover-jet's booked to leave late tonight," Kim said as she gathered her pictures.

"Sounds good," Shego said, and Drakken nodded.

"Then, let's all get ready to…" She started but was interrupted by her cell phone. "Possible," Kim said as she flipped open her phone.

"Hey, KP! How ya doing?" Ron's chipper voice filled her ear.

"Hey, Ron," Kim greeted in reply.

"I need a favor; how big are your hands?" Ron asked, and Kim blinked a moment.

"What?" Kim asked in surprised confusion.

"How big are your hands? I remember them being tiny," Ron commented.

"I guess they're petite… why?" Kim blinked, looking at her palm.

"Good, come on out! I need you," He said. "Hurry, Monique's on her way, too. I'd ask Drakken, but I'm not letting him any where near this thing."

"Um, gotta go," Kim said, closing her phone.

"If he wants sex, take it," Shego said, looking at her nails through her gloves. "He's gotten really good at it since you two broke up; that is, if you ever gave him a ride."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Kim said without even glancing in her former enemy's direction. "See you two tonight," she said as she headed out the door.

"Your loss and everyone else's gain!" Shego called after her with a snarky smile.

--I.R.O.N.--

"Any idea what's going on?" Kim asked as she walked into the Stoppable Mansion and Monique took step beside her.

"You know Ron," Monique shrugged.

"Never be normal," Kim and Monique said in unison before walking down into his lab. What they found was not what they were expecting.

Ron was stretched out on a half-reclined table with his shirt removed and several nodes stuck to his chest and abdomen. Monique and Kim's eyes studied the machines at his side showing his heart rate and pulse as well as an 3D X-Ray scan of his chest. "What's going on? Is that what's keeping you alive?" Kim asked, a small amount of dread in her voice.

"It was what was keeping me alive; it is now scrap," Ron said, holding up the large, glowing Arc Reactor with wires still going into the large, metallic cylinder in his chest. "This upgrade is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future," he said, holding up a slightly different looking version in his other hand. "I came up with a problem trying to swap out, though."

"So, what do you want us to do?" Kim asked as the girls went to either side of him.

"I need you two to reach in and unhook the wiring then replace it with this thing," Ron said, handing Kim the new one.

"You want us to…" Monique paled as she stared at the gaping hole in his chest.

"I'm putting my heart in your hands... again," Ron grinned, adding the last bit unexpectedly as he looked at Kim.

Monique stammered and glanced at the equally nervous Kim, who was chanting her old mantra "I can do anything," over and over again.

"Let's do it, girl," Monique nodded shakily. "Besides, you broke the boy's heart once; it's about time you did something to patch it up."

Kim glared, and Ron sat back as the girls each reached in slowly and began reaching for wires. "Whatever you do don't… ACK! Jesus!" He jerked as Kim accidently touched a wire to the side of his metallic chest cavity. "Touch a wire to the wall…"

"Like Operation," Kim nodded, "but your nose didn't light up…" she smiled.

"Please don't do that again, KP…" Ron whimpered as she started to pull at a wire.

"This one's stuck…" Kim furrowed her brow as she tugged a little harder.

"Maybe you should be a little, SHIT!" Monique gasped as the wire Kim was pulling came out of his chest with a large metal object still attached. "I don't think that was supposed to come out…"

"It's ok… that's just the original pacemaker… the new reactor has one built in, I was going to leave the original as a spare, but …" Ron's breaths increased in speed and deepness as his face began to turn red. "You can put the new one in now, please and thank you."

"Damn it, girl! You always screw up when it comes to Ron," Monique growled as she glared at the redhead. "First you sleep around on him, then you damn near jerk his heart out of his chest? What is wrong with you? Is your head broken or something?"

"Like you really care; you jumped in bed with him before he was even over me," Kim shot back.

"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't been a slut!" Monique growled angrily.

"Says the bitch who took advantage of him!" Kim growled back with both of them leaning over the hyperventilating Ron.

"As much as I love the idea of two beautiful women fighting over me," Ron croaked, clutching his chest. "Could you two save the catfight for when I'm NOT going into cardiac arrest?!"

"What?" The two girls remembered where they were and looked down at Ron.

"Oh, shit, Ron, I'm sorry!" Kim gasped as she and Monique went to work attaching the wires before easing the Arc Reactor into his chest.

Monique and Kim fell over him in relief. "You ok, baby boy?" Monique asked, glancing to the monitors, which were dropping back into safe levels.

"Am now," Ron sighed.

"Don't ever, ever, ever, EVER make us do that again," Kim said, slapping his chest.

"No choice," Ron said, glancing from Kim's eyes to Monique's and back again. "You two, Wade and Hana… you're my family. You're all I've got."

"I've… I've gotta go," Kim said, quickly walking away from the table and out of the lab. Monique let out a groan before following behind, leaving Ron alone with his new chest plate. He watched them go before touching the front of the Arc Reactor and the two inch-by-two inch compartment in the center.

"So, you just gonna run away again?" Monique asked angrily, causing Kim to stop at the front door of Ron's home.

"We were friends in high school, Monique, but you don't know me now, so don't pretend that you do." Kim said as she turned toward her, tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Then explain to me why a girl who can face armies and monsters and aliens is terrified of being emotionally attached to a guy who has put his life on the line for her COUNTLESS times?" Monique asked, "That I have trouble getting."

"You wouldn't understand," Kim said, meeting her gaze.

"Damn right," Monique fired back, "Because any bullshit reason you can throw won't hold a drop of water.

"Let me tell you something, Kim Possible," Monique said, taking a step into Kim's personal space. "You left Ron for a rich, powerful, smart guy. Ron pushed himself to become that. He won't admit it, but everyone knows it was for your ungrateful ass. Ron DIED over there in Afghanistan. He should be in the ground with us both crying over some flowers and a rock. But he beat death. He BEAT death, and everyone can think of only one person he'd do that for."

"I don't deserve that," Kim shot back softly.

"That's the thing about mercy, Kim," Monique shook her head. "No one deserves it."

"I have to leave on a mission tonight," Kim said glancing away. "I'll be gone for at least a week… I have to say goodbye to Derek before I leave."

"Go on then," Monique took a step back. "But Ron's holding out his hand to you, Kim; he has been since you left. He won't wait forever."

Kim made no response as she turned and left the house. "Stupid…" Monique shook her head before going back to Ron's lab. She blinked when she found him in a battle suit much like Kim's old one and strapping something onto his arms. "I thought you said no weapons?"

"Huh?" Ron asked, looking up curiously. "Oh, these are just flight stabilizers, perfectly harmless…" he said, holding his palm toward the concrete wall. His whole arm trembled as a loud hum came from the center of his palm before he was propelled backwards hard against the far wall.

"Alright... I didn't expect that," Ron said, shaking his head, "But works better than I expected," He said, climbing up and dusting himself off. "Rufus, ready the Iron Man Mark II."

"The what?" Monique said as he walked across the lab to a platform slowly opening.

"A suit of armor powered by my Arc Reactor, and using my I.R.O.N. systems," he said as he approached the rising circular assembly bars. "So, I call it Iron Man, plus… the Ozzy song is way too cool not to reference.

"To quote Ozzy Osborn," Ron said as he stepped in the middle of the platform and mechanical arms began quickly assembling black and silver pieces of armor over his body. Monique watched in awe as the suit completely encompassed his body, before a full metallic helmet with two electric blue glowing eyes closed over his face. "I am Iron Man."

"Wow …" Monique gaped at her armored friend and traced the armor with her eyes. The chest piece, majority of the helmet, calves, feet, and forearms were jet black with the face-plate, upper arms, thighs, and strips along the waist a dark silver. A single circular opening in his chest directly over Ron's arc reactor shined brightly the same color as the armor's twin optic sensors.

"With me, Rufus?" Ron asked as the three-dimensional heads-up-display came to life before his face.

"Fully uploaded, Sir," Rufus responded as various system checks cleared before him. "I must once again remind you, Sir, there are terabytes of data to process before safe flight can be attempted."

"Sometimes you have to run before you can walk," Ron said as he opened his palms toward the ground. "Don't wait up Mon…" he said as his repulsor jets hummed to life before lifting him into the air.

Monique yelped and ducked as the armored titan shot through the air and out the tunnel out of the underground lab. "BOOYAH!!" Ron cried as he rocketed through the starlit night. "Let's see what this baby can do…" he said, pushing the armor harder to fly high above Middleton.

"This sucker can go!" Ron laughed as he flew over the city lights. "Hey, Rufus, how long does it take to cross the Pacific, you know, go from here to Japan?"

"The shortest flight is timed at 15 hours," Rufus responded.

"Let's see if we can top it. Rufus, revert ninty percent power to thrust and set the stopwatch on my mark… three, two, one… MARK!" He called out as the armor cut through the air like a sword, breaking the sound barrier.

--I.R.O.N. –

Several hours later, in the Stoppable Japan building in Tokyo, Japan, CEO Yori Fujikawa yawned as she continued to read through the company emails of anyone with enough clearance to access Ron-kun's design files. "Fujikawa-sama," her secretary said, stepping into the office and bowing.

"What's the matter, Kisame?" Yori asked in her usual warm and caring tone.

"I received a rather… unusual voice message for you from Stoppable-sama, Senpai," Kisame responded softly.

"What did he have to say? I imagine it had some perverse undertones," Yori smiled to herself.

"Simply said for you to look out the window toward Fuji," Kisame said with another bow before excusing herself from the office.

Yori's eyes narrowed at what appeared to be a shooting star but widened when she saw it change course.

Her jaw went slightly slack as it flew in range, and she followed the flying, armored man as far as her window would allow. Just before he left her sight, she saw him look her way and give her a nod. "Kami-sama…" She breathed as she stood there in absolute shock before turning and running toward her phone.

She quickly dialed a number and awaited the answer. "Master Sensei…" she said to the voice that answered. "Ron-kun has discovered his new power."

--I.R.O.N.—

"What was the time?" Ron said as he approached his home.

"From the starting point to Tokyo was eleven hours forty-seven minutes," Rufus responded as Ron's house came into view.

"Too bad we can't report that to the record books…" Ron sighed before noticing how quickly they were heading in. "Activate the air brakes, Rufus."

"Air brakes?" Rufus asked curiously.

"Yeah you know, to… aw, hell." Ron cursed. "This could hurt."

"This armor was not designed with an air brake system," Rufus responded.

"I knew I was forgetting something important…" Ron nodded as he sped toward the garage entrance.

He pushed his hands forward and fired the Repulsors to slow him as much as possible. "EJECT!" Ron yelled his order before the armor slammed into the concrete floor and bounced into the garage. It finally came to a stop face down on the Viper, splitting the car almost in half.

"Well… that wasn't so bad…" Ron groaned before the back portion of the armor sprang open, and he was thrown high into the air. With a grunt, he slammed into the concrete ceiling before landing back down through the windshield of the decimated sports car.

"Ron?" Wade and Monique asked as they approached him just when a robot arm rolled on the far side of the car and sprayed anti-flame foam on the blond.

"You ok?" Monique asked as they helped him out of the wreckage.

"I'm fine…" Ron said before glancing at the robot. "But you won't be if you spray me again. I swear by all that's good and decent in this world I will donate you to the local college if you do!"

"Where have you been?" Monique asked in annoyance.

"Japan and back," Ron said as he glanced to the damaged armor. "I think we got something here, Wade. I like it."

Ron pulled away from them, went to the computer, and pulled up the design specs for the Mark II. "Alright, Rufus, replace the armor alloy with the gold-titanium-based blend from the Seraphim satellite; that should take out some of the shakiness. And add some air brakes. Save As: I.R.O.N. Man Mark III."

Monique and Wade looked over his shoulder and Wade added some technical suggestions that Monique didn't understand, but one thing she did notice. "You're not going out where you can be seen in that with it all gold like that, are you?" she asked with her nose curled up.

"You have a suggestion, fashion goddess?" Ron and Wade asked, glancing to her.

"Yeah, why not throw in some other color to mix it up a bit," She said, taking the mouse from Ron's hand and clicking on the chest plate, lower calves and feet, forearms and hands, and a large portion of the helmet. "Red would compliment the gold well, but what shade do we want?"

Ron bit his lip for a moment. "I know the shade I want."

"You can be a very sad person sometimes, Ron," Monique shook her head but couldn't help but nodding upon seeing the preview image. "But… it's not bad."

"And put the Omni-beam system we developed in the chest plate," Wade added. "But save it for a major threat; it takes a lot of juice to fire it."

"Sounds good… alright, Rufus … begin construction." Ron said as he pressed enter.

"Mark III Armor will be ready for field testing in five hours…" Rufus reported as a progress bar appeared on the screen.

"So…" Ron said, turning to his friends. "Let's see what's going on in the real world."

--I.R.O.N. –

A few hours later in North Korea…

"According to recon, there should be a Ring in one of these bunkers…" Kim said as she led Drakken and Shego through the old base that seemingly hadn't seen life since the American involvement of the Korean War.

"You know you promised us action and adventure if we joined your little team, Princess," Shego said as she walked ahead of her.

"I promised a pardon and an alternative to spending every other weekend in a jail cell." Kim corrected with a sly smirk.

"And a steady paycheck," Drakken added, but the withering look from his old partner caused him to back down.

"Whatever, my point is I didn't sign on to look for some old, dead guy's jewelry." Shego complained as she walked on ahead by a few steps.

"I mean, I think I had more excitement when I was running with my brothers!" Shego exclaimed as she turned back to Kim and Drakken.

"It's not always about action and fighting," Kim said with a small smile, which faded when Shego's jaw went slack slightly and her eyes widened slightly. "What's the sitch?" Kim asked, noticing the sudden change in demeanor.

"Drew…" She whispered hoarsely as she brought her hand up to her abdomen.

Drakken shot forward instantly just in time to catch Shego as she fell. He knew as soon as his true name left her lips that something was wrong. The only time she had ever called him that was the time she came down with a severe fever. "Shego, what's wrong?" He asked, but when he saw her uniform gaining a red stain that spread from where she held her stomach, he yelled, "Possible, it's a trap!"

Kim and Drakken quickly found a large crate near a wall that would give them good cover. "Sniper?" Kim asked, drawing her handgun.

"Likely… and a good one… he got Shelly three times before she even knew what happened…" Drakken said, looking over the dazed former villainess' wounds.

"She's hurt bad; we have to get her to a hospital," Kim said, noticing the amount of blood that was oozing through her uniform.

"Kim Possible! I know you have stolen the ring; return it or you will all be killed," a man growled, and Kim peeked up and felt the blood drain from her face. He stood before a large force of armed soldiers and three large tanks.

"This is not good…" Kim said picking up her Kimmunicator. "Force Works to Global Justice. Agent down, we need back up. Repeat, Agent down, we need back up."

Kim glanced to Drakken and watched him tenderly cradling Shego, and for a moment, replaced them with a blond-headed youth holding a redhead in black shirt and cargo pants. "Hang in there, guys; I'm sure help will come …"

Drakken nodded but didn't take his eyes away from Shego's pained, barely conscious face. "Help will come…" Kim closed her eyes and said a small prayer herself.

To Be Continued…

Next Chapter title: The Invincible Iron Man


	5. The Invincible Iron Man

**THE INVINCIBLE I.R.O.N. MAN**

**Chapter 5: The Invincible I.R.O.N. Man**

I can see the danger signs  
Sneakin' up from behind  
Kinda like someone's tellin' me what to say  
Looks like you've lost control  
Somethin' goin' on in your soul  
I can see you comin' from a mile away

Savin' the day, savin' the day  
When you get to the point  
Where it's drivin' you insane  
Savin' the day, savin' the day, ooh

You seem a little strange  
Somethin' 'bout you not the same  
Nowhere to hide  
From the feelin' runnin' through my veins  
Here comes the frightenin' truth  
No way, just ain't no use  
Baby, if you got the will  
I got the way

Savin' the day, savin' the day  
Sneak up fast  
They're slippin' the night away  
Savin' the day, savin' the day  
When it's gettin' to the point  
Where it's drivin' you insane  
Savin' the day, savin' the day  
When it's gettin' to the point  
Where it's drivin' you insane

And the whole thing's out of control  
And you can't run away  
If you don't know where to go  
Don't know, don't know  
You can't leave it to tomorrow

- "Saving the Day" – Alessi Brothers

--I.R.O.N. –

"I don't understand… I don't understand this at all…" Yori said, looking at her old friend as they stood on her balcony under the moonlight. "Master Sensei said you had and will be going through changes…" she whispered, her face contorting in anguish. "But Stoppable-san, how can you bear…"

"It was a long time ago, Yori, and, as you can see, I've come a long way," Ron smiled at her.

"You face and body says you have, but your eyes tell another story," she said, walking up and placing a hand on the American's chest.

"We're friends again, so it's all good," Ron responded as she continued to stare him down, "Plus she's happy."

"What about your happiness?" Yori pressed as her expression softened.

"I'm happy that she's happy…" Ron said, and Yori continued to stare. "Ok, I'm a little upset and hurt, but I'm healing."

"You should be more than a little. You should be angry, furious, I know I would be," Yori said, not taking her eyes off him. "And if I have an opportunity to speak with Possible-san on this subject, you can rest assured she will understand the extent of this dishonor."

"Yori, she may have made a bad choice, but it was her choice. And I respect her choices, no matter what," Ron said, placing his hand over hers. "And we're not here to talk about the disaster story called my love life. Will you run the Japanese branch of my company?"

Yori looked away in thought for a moment. "It will be… my honor to accept. But only on one condition…"

"And what's that?" Ron asked curiously.

"You stay with me tonight," Yori said, looking back into his eyes. "Even with your success… you struggle to see your worth. Let me show you what you are worth to me."

"Stop the daydreaming, Baby Boy," Monique jarred Ron awake as they pulled up to the Stoppable Industries central office.

"Sorry about that," Ron shook his head as he glanced at Monique and Wade sitting across from him in the limo. "Drifted off there for a second."

"So, what's on the agenda?" Monique asked as they exited the limo.

"Going to check with Derek and see if we've got any leads on the security breaches." Ron stated as they walked into the office building.

They rode the elevator to the top floor and made their way to Derek's office.

Ron grinned as he led the way in and saw Kim's fiancé at his desk on the phone.

"She's not had a big push in a while, so three should be enough," Derek said, not noticing the three that just entered. "Just remember the deal…" Derek said before he finally noticed Ron and the others. "Gotta go, Justin; remember: don't kill the old girl," He said quickly before closing his cell. "Ronnie, what's going on, mate?"

"We're just checking on the progress on the investigation." Ron said as he leaned against the desk.

"We've made some progress, but it's difficult," Derek explained, but before he could go into much detail, the door swung open. The group turned to see Dr. Director and a group of agents entering.

"Ronald, Mr. Stane, we need your help," Dr. Director said with a frantic voice.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, unnerved by the unusually shaken up Director.

"The Repulsor-based air transport we discussed, we need one four hours ago," She said, staring hard into Ron's eyes. "Force Works has been pinned down in North Korea, and we have no agents or forces close enough to help. Kim needs help, ASAP."

"Don't you have any kind of supersonic jets?" Wade asked as Ron simply stared at his feet.

"Yes, but the repulsor transports would get there twice as fast, and Shego's already been injured…" Dr. Director informed. "We need to get reinforcements there as quickly as possible."

"I want to help, but we have a production lockdown… and the Repulsor transport isn't ready for use," Derek exhaled as he slammed his fist on the desk.

_I…_

"Is there anything you can offer, maybe even quickly installing the engines on one of our transports…" Director offered as Ron unconsciously clinched his fists.

_Am…_

"Wade, Monique, we're going home," Ron said suddenly and started toward the door.

"What? Oh, no…" Wade's eyes widened before he and Monique quickly left the confused Derek and Dr. Director.

_I… am… Iron Man._

_Has he lost his mind?  
Can he see or is he blind?  
Can he walk at all?  
Or if he moves will he fall?_

Ron stomped into his lab, quickly zipping up his Battle Suit, carefully plugging the power lines into his Arc Reactor. "Ron, stop it! You can't; the suit hasn't been tested! Hell, the paint isn't even dry yet!" Wade protested.

"I can't think of a better test than this, and the flight over should finish drying the paint," Ron said as he checked his suit.

"Ron, this is crazy!" Monique cried out, stepping in front of Ron.

"Yeah, it is, but it's Kim out there. If something happened to her… this thing wouldn't be able to keep my heart beating…" Ron said, touching his reactor.

Monique bit her lip but nodded. "Give em hell, Baby Boy," she said as she stepped to the side.

"Please state voice activation password," Rufus 3000 instructed.

"I am Iron Man," Ron stated clearly, and the platform opened and the construction bars rose from the floor.

_Is he alive or dead?  
Has he thoughts within his head?  
We'll just pass him there  
Why should we even care?_

Ron stepped forward into the toe of the crimson-colored boot before it closed in and the rest of the ruby armored boot closed in around his legs. Metallic leg braces were then placed over his thighs and knees before they were covered in scarlet and gold plates. Waist armor the color of blood was next followed by a chrome harness with wires and circuit boards plugging into the power lines of the battle suit before various armored plates snapped into place over his upper torso.

_He was turned to steel  
In the great magnetic field  
Where he traveled time  
For the future of mankind_

He outstretched his arms and the robot arms assembled first fiery gauntlets before arm braces snapped from the gauntlets to the chest plates as they too were sealed by auric upper arm and rubescent shoulder armor plates.

_Nobody wants him  
He just stares at the world  
Planning his vengeance  
That he will soon unfold_

Neck support plates locked into place between his jaw and shoulders before the rear portion of his helmet was placed across his skull. Finally, a smooth, golden face plate with optic sensors slid down over his face and sealed the armor with a hiss.

"I.R.O.N. Man Mark III Armor systems activate," Ron ordered, and the light on the chest plate lit up, and his optics shined the same shade of blue as his Mystical Monkey Power.

"Arc Reactor energy output at one hundred percent efficiency, sir." Rufus reported in a mechanical voice in Ron's ear. "Repulsors online. Unibeam Cannon on ine. Integrated Repulsor Operational and Navigational system online. Targeting computer online and ready. Movement control online. Structural Integrity at one hundred percent. Reflective Repulsor Shielding up. Global Positioning System linked up with Stoppable Industries Seraphim System. I.R.O.N. Man systems ready."

"You sure we can't talk you out of this?" Wade sighed as Ron stepped off the platform.

"Nope," Ron shook his head.

"Ok, what do you want me to do?" Wade asked with a nod.

"Just keep the skies clear," Ron said as he took to the air and shot through the tunnel at breakneck speed.

_Now the time is here  
For Iron Man to spread fear  
Vengeance from the grave  
Kills the people he once saved_

Sunlight glistened off the red and gold armor as he flew high above the Colorado Mountains. "Rufus, set destination in GPS system." Ron instructed as he rocketed through the air.

"Destination set," Rufus responded.

"Ok, bring up the I.R.O.N. system," Ron instructed as additional repulsor outlets opened along his back and the back of his thighs and calves. "Link up the I.R.O.N. system with the GPS and reroute ninety percent of the total system power to the Repulsors and shielding."

_Nobody wants him  
They just turn their heads_

"I hope you emptied your stomach and bladder before this, sir," Rufus said slowly.

"Did I ask your opinion? Now, get ready to engage afterburners and the I.R.O.N. system on my Mark…" Ron said as he gulped. "Mark." At that point, any other sound, including Ron's scream, was smothered by the sonic boom heard for hundreds of miles.

_Nobody helps him  
Now he has his revenge_

"Why haven't they moved in?" Drakken asked as the three huddled behind the crates.

"They know we can't get out, so they're waiting for us to do something stupid…" Kim said as she glanced at Shego. "How's she doing?"

"If it wasn't for her powers, she'd be dead right now," Drakken said grimly, still holding a large leaf over her wounds.

"If we don't get any back up soon, we all are," Kim said, peeking over the edge of the crate to see the three tanks and rows of soldiers.

"Ok, so some reinforcements would be nice right about now," Drakken said loudly as he looked up at the sky.

A loud sonic boom jarred the ground. "NOW, THAT'S WHAT I CALL SERVICE!" Drakken beamed, pointing toward the eastern sky.

"What in the world is that?" Kim squinted to see the rapidly approaching dot in the distance.

_Heavy boots of lead  
Fills his victims full of dread_

The crimson and gold object slammed into the ground between Force Works and the soldiers with a loud boom, stirring up dust. "Now, that's nice hardware…" Drakken said as the dust settled, and the metallic giant kneeled, still pushing his fist into the ground.

Kim's and Drakken's eyes matched the surprised shock of the troopers as the ruby and gold Avenger rose… and rose… and rose before turning his glowing 'eyes' to the tanks and soldiers. "First and last chance..." a metallic voice spoke loudly from the giant as he took a single step toward the soldiers.

_Running as fast as they can  
Iron man lives again!_

The soldiers responded by opening fire. The giant didn't even flinch, instead starting to walk toward them. They finally stopped, and the giant tilted its head. "My turn," He said, holding out his palms, which were now loudly humming. A flash later, soldiers were blown back. Some rushed him only to be knocked high in the air by the metallic fists.

The first tank turned its barrel on the attacker and fired, slamming into the armor's chest at seven hundred feet away. That finally halted the metal man's advances and sent it back into the dirt.

"Damn… my ears are gonna be ringing for a while after that…" he said before pulling himself back to his feet. "Alright, let's try this out…" He said, clinching his fists as the chest plate slowly opened. The light shined brighter and brighter in the opening before a bright blue blast erupted, cutting through the front of the tank and out the back, gutting it.

The chest plate closed, and he turned to look around. "Who else wants some?" he asked as several soldiers ran in fear, and the two remaining tanks turned toward him.

"I hate tanks," he growled before rocketing back off the ground toward the tank on the left. He landed on top and gripped the bottom of the upper part of the tank with one hand while wrapping his other arm around the barrel.

A moment later, he lifted upward, tearing the upper part of the tank off before throwing it hard into the side of the other tank, knocking it onto its side. The soldiers inside the tank looked up through the now-gaping hole in terror. "Get out and run," their attacker growled, and they didn't wait to be told twice.

Kim and Drakken stared in astonishment as the rubicant warrior returned to them and glanced at Shego. "How bad is it?"

"She's lost consciousness and a lot of blood," Drakken answered, staring at the still shimmering armor despite the fact it had just moments ago been shot by a tank. "Who are you?"

"An old friend," He said, taking a step toward Shego and Drakken. "Can you two make it back to your transport?" he asked using his GPS system to scan for it and found it less than a mile from their current location.

"Sure, but Shego needs help now," Kim said, glancing to the woman in Drakken's arms.

"I'll handle that, KP; you two get the jet and meet us at the GJ Hospital in Tokyo," he said, reaching down and taking Shego from Drakken.

Kim froze and stared at the armored man as he cradled Shego and lifted into the air. "What did you just call me?" Kim asked with wide eyes, but he was already taking off toward the East. "RON!" Kim yelled after him.

--I.R.O.N.—

Kim Possible stomped down the stairs into Ron's basement. Her face was dirty. Her hair was a mess. Her Global Justice uniform was covered in dirt and Shego's blood. But, at the moment, she really didn't care.

"Come on! I designed this armor to come off!" She heard Ron around the corner of his lab.

"Sir, the more you wiggle, the more this is going to hurt," Rufus 3000 responded.

The robot arms and Ron froze when they noticed Kim's presence, standing with her arms crossed and her toe tapping impatiently. "Alright, Kim…" Ron said with half of his armor removed. "This is not the weirdest thing you've caught me doing…"

"What the hell was that?" Kim asked as she stomped up to Ron, who was still suspended in the air by the robotic arms. "You could have been killed!"

"'Oh, Ron, thank you so much for saving my life!' Oh, like you always say, KP, it's no big," Ron said mockingly, "Seriously, Kim, you never have been one for gratitude."

"We had it under control," Kim said, crossing her arms again. "And what the heck is that thing?"

"It's a suit of armor I built based on the one I used to get out of Afghanistan," Ron said as the arms finally got the chest piece to release. "I'm going to use it to try to get back into the Hero thing. Iron Man has a nice ring to it, I think."

"Iron Man?" Kim snorted. "The only thing iron about you is your stomach."

"It put away your cooking, Kimberly Anne," Ron said defensively. "I think that should be respected, not dished."

"Now, see here, you Tin Plated Jerk, I thought I was going to have to see you buried twice in my life. I don't want to chance a third actually succeeding," Kim said, glaring up at him. "Recycle the armor."

"What are you talking about, twice? And I made it out of Afghanistan in almost one piece," Ron argued, "Besides, you never saw me complaining about you going off to fighting baddies in a pair of cargo pants and a belly shirt. Lots of protection to be had there, wasn't there? I'm going to be fighting in a suit that took a nearly point-blank shot from a TANK."

"Christmas Junior year when you decided to go solo while I listened to Christmas carols and you almost became space dust, and I really don't see having to depend on a neon-glow pacemaker as making out in one piece."

"I had that under control back then, and I have this under control now," He said as the armor finally fully released and he was lowered to the floor. "People are using things I made to hurt people, and you expect me to sit back and let that happen?"

"I expect you to use some sense! You suffered major heart trauma, Ron," Kim yelled with her arms held out. "Most people with good common sense would know that they need to relax and take it easy, so that their heart doesn't decide to stop. But no, you have to go out in a blaze of glory in a rust bucket!"

"There's not an ounce of rust in this suit," Ron countered.

"Goddamn it, Ron, you'll die!" Kim shouted in his face.

"AT LEAST IT'LL BE FOR SOMETHING!" Ron countered, and they both fell silent.

"Hey, Ron, I got something! Several tech samples had been shipped under the table to a weapons developer by the name of Justin Hammer, who apparently has ties to North Korea, no idea who cleared it yet, but …" Wade said as he burst into the lab but came to a stop upon finding Kim in there. "Um, am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all, Wade. Kim was just leaving," Ron said pointedly, and Kim didn't waste any time stomping away.

"Wow, I haven't seen you two that intense since you broke up…" Wade said, watching her leave.

"So, do we have a location?" Ron asked, glancing to the armor rack still suspended in the air.

"Shouldn't you rest?" Wade asked his voice laced with concern as he handed Ron the paper.

"I'm a big boy, and I'd like to pay Mr. Hammer a visit, you know, to ask who he bought his tech from," Ron said, walking back as the armor reassembled on him with replacement pieces over the damaged plates. "Don't wait up…" he said before taking off again.

--I.R.O.N.—

Justin Hammer of Hammer International sat at his desk in his Los Angeles office. His thoughts were interrupted when the skylight of his office shattered, and the armored enforcer lowered to the floor.

"If you wanted to see me, sir, all you had to do is call my secretary; she'd have been happy to work you in an appointment," Hammer said, glancing up at the intruder. "Mister…"

"Iron Man," Ron responded through his voice synthesizer.

"That's quite Saturday Morning of you," Hammer smiled, "Is there a reason for your visit?"

"I know you've been using Stoppable Industries technology to develop weapons," Iron Man said taking a step toward him. "I want to know who sold them to you."

"Ron Stoppable himself," Mr. Hammer responded. "Who else would have the pull to allow such an endeavor?"

"Wrong answer," Iron Man growled, lifting his palm and activating his Repulsor. "Care to try again."

Hammer sighed, rose from his chair, and walked to the side of the office. "I have proof," he said, opening his safe and pulling out a contract. "As you can see, I have this signed by Mr. Stoppable himself."

Ron's eyes narrowed as he looked at the paper in Hammer's hand. He quietly instructed Rufus to scan the signature, and it came up to a 92 percent match for his own signature. "That's a forgery. I work directly under Stoppable himself," Iron Man said before grabbing the contract from his hand and tearing it in half. "Discontinue any use of Stoppable tech. I'll give you one week. If you fail, I'll know it and I'll be back. Understood?"

"Loud and clear, Iron Man," Hammer said with a friendly smile and a mocking salute. "But my personal bodyguard might have some problem with that… wouldn't you, Dread Knight?"

Ron could then clearly hear the familiar hum of Repulsors charging behind him. "Rufus, rear repulsor shield to max!" He called out, and his energy shielding rose just as a repulsor blast slammed into his back.

Iron Man slammed into the floor, but quickly rolled and used his Repulsors to push himself back to his feet. "Great, a knight in creepy armor…" He said as he stared down what looked like a cybernetic medieval black knight. The knight drew a sword handle and ignited it into an energy blade. "And he's a Jedi, too. Looks like a job for George Lucas."

Iron Man raised his hand and fired a repulsor blast which Dread Knight easily ducked. Using his momentum, Dread Knight sliced upward across Iron Man's chest. "Repulsor Shielding damage, down to forty three percent." Rufus spoke in Ron's ear. "Another impact with target's weapon could cause an armor breach."

"Wonderful thought…" Ron whispered to himself. "Ok, gotta take him down quick… Ready Unibeam Cannon."

"Warning… strongly discouraged to use the Unibeam Cannon more than once in a charge period." Rufus said with concern.

"Override," Iron Man said as he prepped the attack "You want some? Come get some, Sir Ugly-lot."

Dread Knight rushed Iron Man right as he released the beam that pushed the knight back through the wall. Iron Man also took a step back as an odd tingly feeling went down left arm and his chest became uncomfortably tight.

"I'd start dismantling that," Iron Man said, pointing to the unconscious Dread Knight. "Have a good night, Mr. Hammer, and a pleasant tomorrow," He said, taking off as the tightness in his chest started to become painful.

--I.R.O.N.—

Iron Man flew down the tunnel into the lab and crashed face first along the floor. "Damn it…" Ron gasped as he pushed himself up with one hand, clutching his chest with the other. "Would it hurt Kim to be wrong just once…" He breathed as he opened the helmet. "WADE! MONIQUE!" He called out trying to push himself to his feet, but even with the Armor's additional power, he couldn't muster it.

"They've both gone home, sir," Rufus stated. "Should I call 911?"

"No… no doctors…" Ron breathed, trying to pull himself to the farther into the lab. "Set up the medical system… and… voicephone, speed dial three." He instructed as he finally fell to his side.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anne Possible was preparing dinner. She whistled to herself as she prepared her family's meal when the phone rang next to her. "I'm not on call tonight. Who'd be calling at this hour?" Anne asked as she answered it. "Hello, Possible residence."

"Doctor P…" Ron's breathless voice came across the line after a pause.

"Ron? Is something wrong?" Anne asked, concerned by the tone of the young man's voice.

"Help…"

**To Be Continued … **


	6. Machines of War

**THE INVINCIBLE I.R.O.N. MAN**

**Chapter 6: machines of war**

The breaks squealed on Anne Possible's stationwagon as it came to a stop outside Ron's palatial estate. She ran as hard as she could through the front door and called out for him. Not hearing anything, she made a cursory glance around the area and proceeded down to his basement workshop "Ron!" She called out, seeing him on the floor still in his gold-and-red armor minus the helmet. "Ron! What have you done?"

"I don't feel so good, Mrs. Dr. P…" Ron moaned as she struggled to roll him over with the heavy armor on.

"Ronald?!" Anne cried out, glancing over the scene. "Hold on!" She said as she looked around his workshop in a panic, and her eyes lit up as she spied a crowbar. "Hang in there, Ron. I have to get you out of that suit…"

"Wait! Don't!" Ron shook his head, "Armor system emergency removal protocol activate," He said clearly, and the armor unhooked itself. "This… is one of my more expensive suits…"

Anne blinked before dropping the crowbar and beginning to remove the metallic plates. "You're this Iron Man that's all over the news?" Anne asked, removing the chest plate, and carefully lifting him from the armor. "And what the hell is this?" She asked, motioning to the Arc Reactor embedded in his chest.

"I'm not a cardiologist…" Anne shook her head, "I need to get you to the hospital," she said as she helped him onto the table.

"No hospitals…" Ron grabbed her hand, "Please, Mrs. Dr. P… mom… you're the only one I can trust…"

"I don't like this… but ok…" Anne bit her lower lip, and started placing EKG nods on his chest.

"Rufus, tell her what she needs to know…" Ron groaned as Anne helped him to a medical table, about which she made a mental note to ask why he had one here in the first place.

"Yes, sir," Rufus replied and told the details of Ron's recent experiences as Anne began performing tests on him.

Ron watched curiously as Anne's eyes narrowed at certain points in Rufus' retelling, and he wasn't sure it was from what she heard or the results of the medical tests.

"Let me get this straight: you had severe trauma to your heart, made and installed an advanced pacemaker in a cave, by some miracle, didn't get an infection; and decided to take power away from said pacemaker to power a battle suit in order play space-age knight in shining armor?" She asked slowly. Ron responded with a nod. "Are you stupid?"

"It sounded like a good idea at the time…" Ron grimaced as he tried to sit up, only to be shoved back down. Before he could react again, he felt a sharp sting to his cheek. "Did you just slap me?" Anne answered by slapping him again.

"You just had a HEART ATTACK, Ronald!" Anne scolded, glaring hard at the younger man.

"Just a mild one …" Ron coughed lightly.

"This isn't a permanent fix, Ronald," Anne shook her head as tears formed in the corner of her eyes. "You could get a few years out of this, but if you keep pushing it like this… Ron, that armor is going to kill you…"

"You're starting to sound like Kim," Ron rolled his eyes.

"Well, maybe you should listen to her," Anne placed her hands on her hips. "How do you think she'll feel if you kill yourself playing hero?"

"She's got Derek…" he shrugged, "if you're gonna die, might as well make it mean something."

"Derek's not going to be permanent. We both know that," Anne said, shoving a nitro pill in his mouth. "No different than Josh or Erik. She'll get her head on straight and be back with you. It just makes me angry she keeps doing this, and you keep taking her back."

"She's not coming back this time…" Ron said, forcing himself to sit up. "Derek might still be salvageable… if I can convince him to get his act together."

"You think he's one of the ones leaking your tech out, too, don't you…" Anne narrowed her eyes as he struggled to his feet. "What do you think you're doing? You should be resting… YOU SHOULD BE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL!"

"No, too much to do," He said, stumbling to a locker and pulling out a suit. "I've gotta get this sitch under control before I have another one of those."

"Ron, if you don't start taking it easy, you're going to die…" Anne said as he dressed himself and began dragging himself toward the door.

He glanced back at her, and placed a hand over the Arc Reactor. "Not much can stop that now…" he said as he left the lab.

--I.R.O.N.--

Derek Stane swiped his card through a security reader at an off-the-books lab at Stoppable International's main headquarters and moved with purpose toward his own specially chosen scientists. "How goes the reverse engineering, Doctor?" Derek asked the scientist examining the damaged remains of the I.R.O.N. Man armor, Mark I.

"The weapons systems are easily rebuilt, and the armor-plating is ingenious. Did you know..." the man cut himself off at the impatient stare of his employer. "We're having trouble figuring out the system's power supply…" the scientist said awkwardly.

"It's powered by an Arc Reactor..." Derek frowned.

"Yes, but we've yet to create one similar to Mr. Stoppable's. We managed to condense an Arc Reactor to the size of a large backpack, but the cost-to-output ratio just isn't efficient enough to power a suit like the original," the scientist replied.

"Ron Stoppable and Wade Load built this thing in a cave… WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!" Derek roared, jabbing his finger at the Mark I. "And their power source was the size of a GODDAMN BASEBALL! Now, I don't care how you do it; I don't care much it costs or how long it takes. Figure this problem out, or the unemployment line isn't the only thing you'll be staring down."

"I do have a suggestion, Sir," the lead scientist said sheepishly, "it might be dangerous, but it would answer the power supply problem."

"I'm listening," Derek nodded.

The scientist walked to his work table and brought back a small, metal case. "I hope you don't mind, but I took this from your private collection… I might suggest combining the prototype technology from the Mark I with this technology."

"The Centurion Project?" Derek said as he looked at the bracelet in the case.

"Its nanomachines are self-powered and rapid-replicating," The scientist said, "Combine this with the unique repulsor technology…"

"That could work," Derek nodded, "Do it."

"But, sir, the Centurion Project has left psychological damage on all the test pilots…" the scientist shook his head.

"I said do it. I want it ASAP. I want it active yesterday," Derek nodded, "But first I have to cover my ass."

--I.R.O.N.--

Derek smiled when he saw Ron seated at his desk. "Ron, what can I do for you, my friend?" he asked with a smile. "Can I get you a drink? You ok, mate? You look a little pale…"

Ron forced a smile, "No, I'm fine… just had a lot on my chest lately…"

"They say confession is good for stuff like that," Derek said, sitting down at his desk. "Got something you need to get off it?"

"Actually, I do," Ron set forward, "Derek, tell me the truth… not for me, for Kim. Are you selling my designs and tech under the table to the black market?"

"You think… I'm the mole?" Derek asked with a laugh.

Ron just stared as Derek stood to his feet. "Ron-Man, I'd be the worst possible suspect!"

"Why do you say that?" Ron asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Conflict of interests for you," Derek explained, turning toward the window. "Even if I was, there's no way you could bring me accountable for it. You own the company, you can modify the books to look however you want, and I'm sleeping with the woman you love."

"Excuse me?" Ron asked, taken by surprise.

"I can't believe you'd use this as an excuse to get to me, because I stole Kim from you," Derek turned back to lean across the desk toward him. "Are you that bitter that Kim wanted to be with the better lover?"

"Number one, I don't agree with the way you're talking about KP," Ron held up a finger, "And number two, you question my abilities as a lover of women. That, sir, is crossing the line." Before Derek could respond, Ron's fist collided with his jaw.

Derek responded with a punch square between the eyes. Once Ron's daze cleared, he tackled Derek across the desk, sending his computer monitor flying.

"What the _hell and damnation_ is going on in here?!" Monique's shrill voice rang through the office.

"He through the first punch!" Derek cried out as Monique jerked Ron back by the collar.

"I don't care who started it, children!" Monique snapped, "I'm finishing it! You, fix your computer," She pointed to Derek, "And you, get your ass home and in bed, so you can rest." She turned to Ron and shoved him toward the door. "I did not sign on for this crap and being BOTH of your MAMAS is NOT in my pay grade!"

"Here's a final thought, Big D," Ron said from the door. "How do you know she hasn't come back to my bed while you're busy selling my stuff to terrorists? Think on that!"

"Are you stupid?" Monique asked once she got him into the elevator.

"You're the second beautiful woman to ask me that this morning," Ron noted.

"What was that all about, Ron?" Monique asked, shaking her head.

"I almost, ALMOST got a confession out of him," Ron held up a finger.

"Was that before or after you decided to play Steel Toe and Pain King?" Monique crossed her arms and scowled. "He wouldn't come out and say he's selling your tech, so you decided to beat it out of him? Did you get advice from Drakken and Shego for this move, or did you come up with this all by your lonesome?"

"I just gotta keep the heat up…" Ron nodded.

"And you'll get a restraining order from your own CEO, whom you named by the way," Monique explained, "And could possibly get the rest of the board to out you for psychological instability."

"Can they do that?" Ron asked after a moment.

"Yes, they can," Monique scowled.

"Oh… I didn't think of that…" Ron then smiled. "I'll have to come back in the armor, then."

"Ron, no."

"He'll never know it's me."

"No."

"I'll just hang him outside the window like Batman till he squeals…"

"NO!"

--I.R.O.N.--

Meanwhile, in another warehouse in the Stoppable Enterprises complex, Kim wondered casually into the small lab. "Working on a new suit for Ron?" Kim asked, causing Wade to jump.

"Kim!" Wade yelped turning to his old friend. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" He said, holding up a welding torch. "Especially when I'm armed…"

Kim tilted her head, examining his handy work. "Interesting… but isn't Ron's choice of armor red and gold?" Kim placed a finger across her chin. "And last I checked, Ron doesn't like guns."

"Ron doesn't like a lot of things," Wade mentioned, "Doesn't mean I can't slip in some reinforcements to my little war machine here to back him up, huh?"

"Point," Kim nodded, "I am worried he might be pushing himself too much… can that pacemaker really hold up to his using that armor?"

"Technically, it should…" Wade said awkwardly, lifting a dark chrome gauntlet and sliding his hand into it. "Barring he doesn't draw too much power away from his personal life-support."

"Ron calls his armor I.R.O.N. Man," Kim said, picking up the dark chrome and silver helmet. "What are you going to call this one?"

"I haven't thought of anything just yet," Wade replied, "Hopefully, I'll never have to put it on."

Kim started to respond when her GJ Communicator beeped. "Wouldn't let you keep the old ringtone?" Wade asked with a smile and laughed when Kim rolled her eyes.

"This is Possible," Kim answered. "Yes, ma'am, I'm in route." She shut off the com and turned to Wade. "I gotta go, Wade, duty calls."

"Ok… be safe…" Wade gave her a quick hug before she ran out of the lab. He then turned to his incomplete armor. "Won't be long till I'll be able to help when they need me…"

--I.R.O.N.--

Monique walked into Ron's home and narrowed her eyes when she saw his bed empty. "Ronald…" She growled when she turned to the couch and found it also empty. She sat groceries she picked up for her sick friend and stomped toward the stairs. "Ron, what are you doing?" She asked finally found him by his computer set up.

"Kim's on her way to the Go City National Museum," Ron said as he keyed away at the controls.

"How do you know that?" Monique crossed her arms.

"I bugged her Global Justice com when she wasn't looking," Ron responded, standing up. "_I am Iron Man_." He said loudly, activating his armory.

"Dr. Possible said you needed bed rest!" Monique growled as the armor pieces snapped together around him.

"Relax, Mon, I feel tons better," Ron said as the robotic arms retracted into the floor and ceiling. "I'll take a nap on the flight to Go City, and I'll take a full night when I get back."

The repulsors lifted him into the air as his gold faceplate snapped into place. "Be home soon!" Iron Man said before launching up the tunnel to the surface.

--I.R.O.N.--

"Put your weapon down and no one has to get hurt," Kim ordered as she watched the villainess closely.

"All I want is that one little ring from the display," the odd woman replied, her whip crackling in the air. "Give me the ring, and no one has to get hurt…"

"You want a ring," Kim made sure the diamond of her engagement ring was facing out, "I'll give you one! FORCE WORKS! ATTACK!!" Kim called out jumping at Whiplash, hitting her square in the jaw, diamond first.

"Why you… if you knew how much I had to put into looking like this!" Whiplash growled, touching her bleeding cheek. She yelled as she lashed out at Kim, wrapping her wrist up in her whip. Kim smirked for only a moment before Whiplash activated the tazer built into the handle of the whip.

Kim cried out in pain as the voltage ran through her arm.

"Hang on, Possi-SCHNIKIES!!" Drakken cried out when he grabbed the whip to try to help her, only to receive the same voltage.

"Dr. D!" Shego ducked and dodged the villain's other whip, while trying to get to the pair. "When someone is being zapped by something, YOU DON'T GRAB IT WITH YOUR BARE HANDS!!"

"This is a lot easier than I expected," Whiplash smiled.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

"Huh? Oh, crap…" was all Whiplash could get out before she got a chest full of repulsor ray.

She struggled back to her feet before narrowing her eyes at the hero. "Tell me, Shellhead, how insulated is that armor?"

Whiplash then cracked her whip, wrapping it around Iron Man's waist, and turned on the voltage, full blast. The armored Avenger cried out, and he felt the now-familiar tightness forming in his chest along with the wave of dizziness and nausea.

"No!" Kim called out, jumping onto Whiplash's back and putting her into a chokehold.

"GET OFF ME!" Whiplash thrashed around, finally letting the armored hero go, who instantly dropped to one knee, with one of his hands going to his chest.

The two women fell into the display as they fought one another. Shego and Drakken moved in to help their partner as Iron Man struggled back to his feet.

"Rufus… status report," Ron breathed as he struggled to stay on his feet.

'Arc Reactor at fifty percent capacity, blood pressure highly elevated, strongly suggest transferring all power to life support systems,'

"Negative, not in a fight…" Ron shook his head before starting back toward the villain.

Iron Man fired off his boot repulsors as Whiplash fell out of the display. "Goodnight, Princess," Iron Man stated before slamming his fist into the villain. Whiplash yelped as she flew through the wall.

"Good knock," Kim commented, before going after her. "Where'd she go?"

"Slippery little witch…" Shego grunted, seeing only the impression in the far wall where she hit.

"Well, we saved the exhibit… kinda…" Drakken stated looking around the devastated area. "Dr. Director is gonna yell, isn't she?"

"Well, at least everything was just broken instead of stolen…" Shego shrugged, not knowing Whiplash escaped with a single, ancient ring.

"Thanks for the help again… Iron Man," Kim smiled at the armored hero. "Iron Man?" She asked, but he didn't respond and instead simply turned and robotically walked toward the exit.

Kim frowned in worry when he took flight and flew back toward Middleton.

--I.R.O.N.--

Monique set at the desk as Ron returned in the suit. "Have fun playing hero, Hero?" Monique asked as he walked toward the armory. Any smugness left her when the armor was removed and Ron collapsed on the floor.

"RON!" Monique yelped as she ran to his side. "Ron, are you ok?"

"Just pushed myself a little too hard today…" He gasped, "That bed rest is looking really good right about now…"

"Stubborn fool…" Monique growled as she helped him up the stairs.

Once he was on the bed, she made sure he was comfortable. "You sure you don't want me to take you to a hospital?"

"I just need to rest a while… good night's sleep should help…" he said, ignoring Monique's worried frown.

"Ron, maybe you should leave that armor alone, at least for a while…" Monique said, grabbing his hand.

"Sure thing, KP… just call if you need help… I got ya back…" He said, as he drifted off.

Monique sighed, as she tucked him in. "Goodnight, Babyboy," She said, kissing him on his clammy forehead. She turned to leave, pausing to see a video-tape shaped envelope on Ron's entertainment center. "How'd that get there?" She shrugged it off and went to the living room to call and report in to Dr Possible.

**To Be Continued… **


End file.
